Friends Til the Endgame
by PotCFan101
Summary: Follow up to The Heart of Damballa's True Power, and follows Andy, Nica, and Alice throughout most of Avengers Endgame. After meeting up with the Avengers when half of all life vanishes from Thanos' snap, Andy Barclay and the Pierces set out to help them restore the universe to what it once was. Given that Andy feels partially responsible, he's willing to do whatever it takes.
1. Prologue: The Snap

_Rhode Island_

"**This is an emergency broadcast. Please, remain calm and-**"

Andy Barclay punched the off button on his truck's radio so hard, his hand nearly broke.

"Why didn't you leave it on?" Nica Pierce asked. "Maybe they know what's going on."

"Bullshit." Andy muttered. "The media never knows what's going on. Besides, we already know, and it's my fault."

Nearly a day ago, Andy had given over a powerful artifact known as the Soul Stone, before then called the Heart of Damballa, to a large, purple alien named Thanos, in exchange for the soul of Charles Lee Ray to be lifted from Nica's body. Shortly after, the remains of Ray that inhabited a possessed Good Guy doll, as well as Andy's friend Kyle, crumbled into dust and vanished. It couldn't have been a coincidence.

"We don't know it was him." Nica tried reassuring Barclay, but he grit his teeth and drove faster.

"Think about it, Nica." Andy said, with a dangerous edge in his voice. "I gave Thanos the Soul Stone. We saw what that, space, power, and the reality stones could do on their own. He just needed two left. And considering the timing…"

"Look, we'll figure this out later." Nica decided. "Right now, we need to pick up Alice." Andy slowly nodded, and returned focus on the road, neither of them uttering a word for the rest of the trip.

* * *

It only took ten more minutes to get to Alice's grandmother's house, but for Nica, it felt like centuries. Every second that passed by, the road seemed to stretch another five miles.

"Finally, we made it-" Before Andy even finished his sentence, before he put the truck in park, Nica bolted out of the passenger side and ran towards the door. "Nica, wait up!"

Nica didn't listen, and started banging her fist against the door.

"Alice!" Nica called out, rapidly knocking to the point where her knuckles began to ache.

"Nica, stop." Andy said softly, as he carefully reached out and grabbed Nica's hand. "You know she's alive. We called her on the way here."

"I know." Nica agreed, looking at the ground sadly. "It's just-"

"She's alright." Andy said reassuringly. As if on cue, the door opened, and a little girl with blonde hair and freckles stood staring at Nica.

"Hi, Aunty Nica." Pierce's niece barely whispered, with her voice sounding hoarse. Nica quickly looked Alice over, noticing that her eyes were red, most likely from crying. "Grandma, she… she turned into dust, and was blown away by the wind."

"The same thing happened to Chucky, and Kyle." Andy realized. "What the Hell is going on?"

"What do we do?" Nica asked, feeling more helpless than when she was stuck in a wheelchair all of her life.

"What about visiting the Avengers?" Alice asked, causing the two adults to look at her. "They might be able to help."

"How do we know they're not gone?" Nica pointed out.

"Wait, that could work." Andy said thoughtfully. "At least we have to try."

"Aunty Nica, who's he?" Alice asked, looking up at Barclay. Nica looked back at Andy, trying to figure out what to call him. Savior? The man she'd only heard about a handful of times from a killer doll, and really only met just yesterday?

"A friend." Nica settled on. "Come on. I doubt we can catch a flight with what's happened, and New York's a bit of a drive."

"Right. Let's go." Andy ushered the Pierces into his truck, and after quickly entering the driver's side and starting the engine, the black truck sped down the road once more.

* * *

In truth, the trip wasn't that long, Andy came to realize, once they arrived at the Avenger's facility in Upstate New York. It was only around four hours, it just felt longer because he had been driving non stop, with little to no breaks.

Andy parked the car just outside the gate and looked over to the passenger seats, seeing Nica and Alice sleeping soundly.

"Hey, wake up." Andy mumbled, nudging Nica awake.

"Mm?" Pierce's eyes fluttered open, and she woke Alice up as well.

"What time is it?" Alice yawned.

"Ten, eleven… Not too sure." Andy admitted, and the three got out of the car.

"Who wants to knock?" Alice said jokingly.

"Don't bother, someone's coming." Andy pointed past the gate, seeing four figures walking towards them. Two of them were recognizable as Doctor Bruce Banner, now known to the world as the Hulk after the incident in South Korea back in 2015, and Colonel James Rhodes, who usually flies around in his 'War Machine' armored suit. There was also a blonde haired woman accompanying them, and leading the group was…

"Captain America?" Andy asked out loud. The man before home appeared to be wearing Captain America's uniform, albeit without the red, white, and blue colors, but he had grown a beard. What's more, he didn't have the iconic shield.

"I'm not Captain America anymore." the Captain said gruffly. "Who are you?"

"My name is Andy Barclay." Andy introduced himself. "This is Nica Pierce, and her niece, Alice. We think we might know what's going on."

"Yeah, we already know what's going on." Rhodes interrupted. "Some big ass purple alien snapped his fingers, and half of everyone disintegrated." Andy's and Nica's mouths hung open.

"So we were right." Nica gasped.

"What do you mean, you were right?" Banner asked, curious.

"I think I might have made a mistake and helped that 'purple alien'." Andy revealed. "Was his name 'Thanos', by chance?"

Captain America narrowed his eyes, before pushing the gate open.

"Come inside." Steve Rogers ordered. "Let's talk."

* * *

Andy, Nica, and Alice followed the remaining Avengers into their facility, until they came to a large office of sorts, with a glass table and chairs around it.

"Sit down." Steve Rogers requested, indicating the chairs. Andy complied, immediately sitting down, and was soon followed by Nica and Alice. "Now, what happened?"

"Hours before everyone… turned to dust," Andy paused, looking towards Nica and Alice with sympathy, before continuing. "Thanos and a green skinned woman came to me. At the time, Nica was possessed by Charles Lee Ray."

"The Lakeshore Strangler?" the blonde woman, who was known as Natasha Romanoff, asked aloud. "I thought he was dead."

"He transferred his soul into a children's toy." Nica explained. "Then he transferred his soul into me."

"I was ready to use this relic, called the Heart of Damballa, to remove Ray's soul from Nica's body, until Thanos showed up." Andy continued. "He told me that it contained the Soul Stone."

"One of the six Infinity Stones." Banner confirmed. Andy nodded, and continued his story.

"Thanos requested I give the stone to him, despite the woman saying no." Andy told the Avengers. "And… I did."

"Wait, why?" Rhodes asked, and there seemed to be a hint of anger in his voice.

"He made a deal with me." Andy revealed. "I give him the stone, and he would remove Chucky's soul from Nica's body. Moreover, he also fixed her paralysis."

"I've been confined to a wheelchair all my life." Nica told the Avengers. "Thanos gave me the ability to walk for the first time in my life."

"We thought everything was fine, until we got back to my cabin, where my friend and Chucky dissolved into dust." Andy finished. "That's when we started feeling that we made a mistake."

"Damn right." Rhodes snapped. "You see some tall purple dude demanding one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, and the first thing you do is give it to him?"

"Rhodey, cut him some slack." Natasha told him. "He didn't know what Thanos was going to do."

"Doesn't change the fact that I fucked up." Andy said glumly. "But if there's anything I can do to help, I am more than happy to." Rogers thought for a moment, before standing up.

"Come with me." Steve offered. "We're still trying to search for possible ways to undo this. If you're up for it, you can help out."

"At this point, I'm ready to help out anyway I can." Andy told the Captain, and the two got up and left the room, leaving Nica and Alice with Natasha.


	2. Too Late

_Three Weeks Later_

"What am I looking at?" Andy asked, confused as he stared at the odd device that Rhodey and Bruce were analyzing. In all fairness, Barclay had seen that thing before: it was known as a pager, he remembered seeing his mother use one when he was a child. But he never recalled a pager displaying a picture before. The picture in particular was of an eight pointed star against a red and blue background.

"We're not sure." Rhodey answered truthfully. "We found it at Nick Fury's last known location. Thought you guys would want in."

"If it's part of undoing what Thanos did, absolutely." Andy replied. Suddenly, the pager turned off, seemingly for no reason. "Shit. That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?"

"Don't know." Rhodey stared at the pager, looking just as confused. "Let's go, we better tell Cap."

"This is a nightmare." Rogers mumbled, staring at a hologram of the planet, as the casualty numbers of the now coined "Decimation" incident were still being tallied.

"I've had better nightmares." Natasha responded, while Nica silently nodded.

"Hey." Rhodey and Andy entered the conference room, gaining Steve's, Romanoff's, and Nica's attention. "So that thing just turned off."

"What have we got?" Romanoff asked, approaching Bruce.

"Whatever signal was sent finally gave out." Bruce explained.

"But I thought the battery was bypassed." Steve reminded Banner.

"We did. It's still plugged in." Rhodey pointed out. "It just stopped."

"Then reboot it, and send the signal again."

"Wait a minute." Andy spoke up. "Maybe the signal stopped because it was already received."

"And whoever was on the other end might be on their way now." Nica suggested. Her guess was correct, as the moment she turned around, a woman with long blonde hair stood right behind the team. Andy took a moment to notice the suit she wore beared the same eight point star, and red and blue color scheme, as the pager image.

"Where's Fury?" the woman asked. For a straight minute, nobody talked, until Steve finally broke the silence.

"Gone." Rogers looked at the floor while speaking. "He… vanished, along with half of everyone on Earth."

"Hang on, who are you?" Rhodey asked.

"I'm a friend of Fury's." the woman introduced herself. "My name is Carol Danvers. How did he die?"

"Some intergalactic tyrant named Thanos used the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe." Banner quickly gave the rundown.

"That would explain why I've been seeing this over multiple galaxies in the last three weeks." Danvers muttered.

"We could use your help." Rogers told Carol. "One of the best of us, Tony Stark, has been missing for weeks. His fiance has told us that she is still receiving calls via his Iron Man helmet, but he's drifting somewhere in space." Carol nodded, and let out a heavy exhale.

"I'll find him." Danvers said with determination, and began walking outside the facility.

"What do we do now?" Nica asked, as Rogers watched Danvers fly up and out of Earth's atmosphere.

"We wait."

* * *

As it turned out, all it took was a couple hours of waiting on everyone else's part. In that time, Andy went back to the conference room to find Nica staring at the floor, with Alice asleep right next to her.

"How is she?" Andy asked. Nica looked up and smiled sympathetically.

"She'll be alright." Nica answered, but she was more convincing herself. "She's only twelve, there's a chance she'll forget."

"Bullshit." Andy muttered. "Chucky first went after me when I was six. I never forgot."

Before either of them could say anything, Andy felt the ground rumbling. The shaking was so intense, Alice woke up from her nap.

"What's that?" the twelve year old asked.

"They're back." Rogers replied, entering the conference room. Andy turned around to look at the Captain, noticing that he shaved his beard. "Let's go."

Andy, Nica, Alice, Steve, Bruce, Rhodey, and Natasha walked outside, joining Pepper Potts in seeing Danvers carrying a large spaceship towards the field just outside the Avengers' facility. Once Carol finally set it down, the ramp opened, and a blue skinned woman with mechanical body parts exited the spacecraft. Following her was Tony Stark, who was looking rather worse for wear. Upon seeing his old friend, Steve

ran over and helped Stark.

"I couldn't stop him." Tony blurted out.

"Me neither." Steve admitted.

"But I lost the kid." Tony added.

"Tony, we lost."

"Is she-" Tony was interrupted by Pepper running up and wrapping him in a bear hug.

"Come on." Andy nudged Nica. "Let's go inside and wait for them." Nica nodded, and they and Alice made their way back to the facility, ready to get down to business on how to beat Thanos.

* * *

"It's been twenty three days since Thanos came to Earth." Rhodey briefed everyone. While the Avengers were speaking, Andy looked at the holograms of people who became dust. Stephen Strange. Sam Wilson. Wanda Maximoff. Peter Parker. And there was countless more.

"The governments are in pieces." Natasha continued. "The parts that are still working are trying to take a census, but it looks like he did exactly what he intended. Thanos… wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures." Tony looked around, noticing Thor sitting in a corner, and looking royally pissed off.

"What's with him?"

Soon after asking about the god of thunder, Stark was asked about if he knew where Thanos was, to which he began to lash out at everyone. At that point, Andy diverted his attention towards Nica and Alice.

"It's getting late, Alice should probably get to bed." Andy whispered.

"Not tired." Alice tried to say, but yawned in the process.

"Nice try." Nica smiled, clearly amused, and led her niece to one of the guest rooms.

"And you-" Andy turned around in time to see Tony point his finger at him accusedly. "-You gave him the Soul Stone. And you gave it to him without a second thought."

"I did it to save someone's life." Andy argued. "And so that she was given a better shot than what life threw at her since birth."

"And you're fine with half of all life dying over one person?" Stark asked angrily.

"Tony, enough!" Rogers shouted. "Nebula told us what Strange did. How he gave up the Time Stone to spare your life. Doesn't that put him and Barclay in the same boat?"

"And I was pissed at Strange for doing that. Because of him, Peter's gone." For a moment, Tony's expression changed to that of pain and loss, before he became furious again. "You know what, here-" Stark ripped off the arc reactor from his chest and handed it to Steve.

"You find him, you put that on, and you hide." Tony ordered. As soon as he finished, Stark collapsed. Despite insisting he was fine, his body couldn't take the stress, and he completely passed out.

Five minutes later, Tony was placed on a medical bed, hooked up to a machine monitoring his vitals.

"He's stable." Carol informed everyone. "Just make sure he stays that way."

"Wait, where are you going?" Andy asked, as Carol began walking away.

"To kill Thanos." Danvers called back, sounding too arrogant for Barclay's liking.

"Wait a minute, we do this as a team." Natasha told Captain Marvel. "And between you and me, moral is pretty low."

"Do you even know where he is?" Steve asked.

"I know people who might." Danvers offered.

"Don't bother." Nebula spoke up. "I know where my father is hiding. Whenever he and I would talk about his plan, he would always mention that once he is done, he would go to the garden."

"Cute, he has a retirement plan." Rhodey scoffed.

"But where would that be?" Andy asked.

"We think we found it." the talking raccoon Andy noticed comfort Nebula earlier, named Rocket, said to everyone. The Avengers followed the raccoon back to the conference room, where he pulled up a holographic image of a planet. "When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became a centerpoint of cosmic energy no one's ever seen before. Until two days ago, when those same energy readings came from this planet: 0269-S."

"He used the stones again." Natasha realized.

"Hey, we'd be going in shorthanded." Bruce pointed out. "And he still has the stones-"

"So let's get him." Danvers interrupted. "We take the stones, and undo what he did."

"As crazy as that sounds, it could work." Andy said thoughtfully.

"Just like that?" Bruce asked.

"Yes. Just like that." Rogers agreed.

"How do we know it'll end differently this time?"

"Because last time you didn't have me." Andy looked at Danvers, again irritated by the arrogance in that sentence. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one.

"Look, new girl, we're all about that superhero life here." Rhodey said sarcastically. "But if you don't mind me asking, where the Hell have you been for the past twenty three years?"

"There are a lot of other worlds aside from this one." Captain Marvel replied. "And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys."

At that point, Thor got up and approached Danvers. Neither of the them said a word, even when the god held out his hand and called his axe towards him.

"I like this one." Thor smirked, after minutes of silence. Andy turned his attention back towards the planet's image, before addressing everyone else.

"Let's go get this son of a bitch."

* * *

After a great deal of convincing from Andy, Nica decided to stay on Earth with Alice, given that the girl was only twelve and had no other relatives to take care of her. , That left Barclay, Rogers, Natasha, Bruce, Rhodey, Nebula, Thor, Rocket, and Danvers to go and confront Thanos.

"Okay, how many of you haven't been to space?" Rocket asked, once everybody found a chair on the spaceship. Only Andy, Steve, Nat, and Rhodey raised their hands. "Alright, just don't puke on my ship." Immediately afterward, the ship made some sort of space jump, which ended up getting the group to the planet in a matter of seconds.

"I'll scout around, see if there's any surprises for us." Captain Marvel said, exiting the ship and flying down to the planet's surface.

"This is going to work, Steve." Andy heard Natasha say to Rogers.

"I know it will." Rogers paused, before adding, "Because I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't." A few seconds later, Captain Marvel came back from scouting out Thanos.

"No alarms, no armies, or satellites." Carol listed off to the Avengers. "Just him."

"And that's enough." Nebula said worriedly.

On the planet's surface, Thanos walked back up the steps of his farmhouse, feeling that he had worked long enough that day. As he went inside to make dinner, the mad titan heard a sharp noise, almost flying. Suddenly, a burst of energy tore through the roof of the farmhouse, forcing Thanos to block it with the Infinity Gauntlet. While he was distracted, Captain Marvel swooped in, knocking the titan down and wrapping him in a chokehold. Before Thanos could pry Danvers off, Banner, who was wearing the Veronica Iron Man armor, broke through the house's floor, grabbing onto the gauntlet, while War Machine held onto his other arm. Finally, Thor flew in, swinging his axe and cutting off the arm that wore the gauntlet, causing Thanos to roar in pain. With the enemy subdued, Steve, Natasha, and Andy entered the farmhouse, while Rocket checked on the gauntlet. Unfortunately, when the raccoon rolled the giant golden glove over, the Infinity Stones were no longer there.

"Oh no." Rocket gasped, getting the attention of Rogers and Barclay.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." Andy growled, pulling out a pistol.

"Where are they?" Captain America asked.

"The universe required correction." Thanos explained. "After that, the stones served no purpose, other than temptation."

"You murdered trillions!" Banner yelled, pushing Thanos to the floor and hitting him.

"And you tricked me into helping you!" Andy accused, cocking his gun back and pointing it at the titan's head.

"You should be grateful." Thanos tried to say, but was hit again by Bruce. "I held up my end of the bargain, didn't I Barclay?"

"Where are the stones?" Natasha asked.

"They're gone." Thanos informed Black Widow. "Reduced to atoms."

"You used them two days ago." Bruce pointed out.

"I used the stones to destroy themselves." Thanos answered. "It nearly killed me. But it's done now. There's no changing it. I am… inevitable."

"No. We have to tear this place apart, he has to be lying." Rhodey declared, seemingly in denial.

"My father is many things, but a liar isn't one of them." Nebula said, looking towards the ground.

"Thank you, daughter." Thanos smiled. "Perhaps I treated you too harshly-"

Andy had heard enough, and in a split second, he fired his gun right at Thanos' head. Normally, a headshot would have killed someone, but the bullet seemed to simply bounce off the mad titan's head.

"The fuck?" Andy asked aloud. Thanos still being alive was rectified, however, as right after the bullet ricocheted, Thor swung his axe and cut off Thanos' head clean off.

"What did you do?" Rocket asked, his voice sounding broken.

"I went for the head." Thor mumbled, and walked out of the farmhouse. As Nebula closed Thanos' eyes, Andy dropped his gun, his fingers feeling numb. Around him, the rest of the Avengers looked down in mourning, realizing the weight of their failure, and there was seemingly no way to undo the Snap. For once, they had lost, apparently for good this time.


	3. The Plan

_Five Years Later_

_Chicago_

"Thanks for coming. Have a nice day!" Andy said half heartedly to the customer leaving. After Thanos was killed, Barclay felt like he was a complete failure for giving up the Soul Stone, and the only way he could avoid those feelings was to throw himself back into working at his gun store. In actuality, business was going great, as everyone figured the apocalypse kicked off early. That still didn't make Andy feel better, though.

Andy checked the clock above the door, watching as the hands rested on the twelve and the seven. Closing time. Andy sighed, walked over to lock the doors, then went upstairs to his apartment above the store. Once he entered the small apartment, Barclay looked over to his left, staring at the man he left tied up and gagged next to his TV. The man wore a black robe and hood, with images of golden snakes similar to the Heart of Damballa all along the robe.

"How ya been?" Andy asked casually, striding to the fridge. "Want a beer? No?" Andy smirked, grabbing a bottle of Blady's and sat down next to his captive.

"Let's try this again." Andy declared, ripping the gag out of the man's mouth. "Where are you sick cultist fucks hiding?"

"Fuck you!" the cultist yelled, spitting in Andy's face.

"Wrong answer." Barclay growled, forming his hand into a fist and striking the man in the jaw, hard. "How about now?"

"If I tell you, she'll kill me." the cultist whimpered.

"You should be more worried about what I'll do." Andy threatened, before picking up a pistol from the table. "Five years ago, Thanos wiped out half of all life. After that had happened, I met up with an old friend in the Marines. You and the criminal scum have probably heard of him. He goes by the Punisher." The cultist stiffened in shock.

"Yeah, he got lucky and didn't turn to ashes, unlike that guy with the glowing hand, or the drunk detective with super strength." Andy continued. "We had a few beers, caught up, talked about how simple life used to be. And then he taught me all the ways you can hurt a man, all the while keeping him alive." At that point, Andy pointed the gun at the cultist's forehead, and loaded the chamber. "Last chance."

"Alright, alright!" the cultist sobbed. "The hideout is in Charles Lee Ray's old brownstone apartment, a few blocks down from that Chinese restaurant!"

"Thanks." Andy grunted, before pulling the trigger, and painting the floor a deep shade a crimson. Andy sighed, exhausted, and turned up the television, before crashing on the couch. Tomorrow, Barclay decided, he would destroy the cult. But for now, he just needed to rest.

_San Francisco_

_Seven Hours Ago_

Alice and Nica Pierce entered a small warehouse, armed with nothing but a couple flashlights.

"What are we doing here again?" Nica asked her niece.

"Ever since Andy and the Avengers returned, saying they killed Thanos, I've been looking for ways to reverse whatever happened." Alice explained to her aunt. "And I just might have found a breakthrough."

"But the Avengers themselves said it can't be undone." Nica reminded her. "They said that Thanos destroyed the stones."

"I refuse to believe it can't be reversed in some way." Alice said adamantly. "I know I can't do anything for my parents, but Grandma didn't deserve to die that way."

"Okay… what's this 'breakthrough' you had?" Nica asked.

"I've spent the last two years looking into something called quantum energy." Alice told her. "It's an entirely different plane of existence than what we live in. Time and space move differently there."

"And we're in a warehouse because?" Nica asked.

"Because I spoke with a professor named Bill Foster, and he mentioned that he knew Ant-Man. His real name is Scott Lang." Alice continued. "He told me that he, along with Hank Pym and his daughter, built a machine, the quantum tunnel, to enter the quantum realm. The last Foster heard, Lang entered the quantum realm, but never came out, because Pym and his family died during the Decimation." After a few more seconds of searching, Alice pointed to a run down brown van. "There!"

"A mini van?" Nica asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The quantum tunnel is in the back." Alice quickly explained, before approaching a control panel on the van's dashboard. "Hopefully Foster was right on how to work this…" Alice pressed a button, which caused the van to hum. Within an instant, the back doors of the van flew open, and a man in a red and black suit landed on a pile of garbage bags.

"Oh, what the Hell?" the man asked, looking around. "Hank? Hope?"

"Told you." Alice whispered to her aunt, before addressing the man in the red suit. "Scott Lang? We have a mutual acquaintance with the Avengers."

"Who are you, kid?" Scott asked. "And where am I?"

"I'm Alice Pierce." Alice introduced herself. "This is my aunt, Nica. And I just freed you from the quantum realm. You're welcome."

"Man, I'm starving." Lang grumbled. "I think I was in there for five hours…" Alice widened her eyes, and looked at Nica.

"Um, Mister Lang… it's been five years."

"What!" Scott shouted. "What happened?"

"An alien tyrant came to Earth and wiped out half of all life in the universe." Nica gave the short story. "Truth be told, some people thought you were part of that half."

"Half of everyone?" Lang said in disbelief. "Oh God, Cassie!"

"Cassie is fine." Alice reassured him. "We spoke with her earlier. She's alive."

"But Hank… Hope… Janet…" Scott closed his eyes, remembering how he was calling for them to bring him back from the quantum realm, but nothing happened, and no one responded. "How did he do it? The alien that wiped out everyone?"

"His name was Thanos, and he used these powerful relics called the Infinity Stones." Nica explained. "One of those was used to open up that portal in New York back in 2012."

"And you said it only felt like five hours, being in the quantum realm." Alice added. "If we can find a way to direct where we want to go…"

"We can travel through time?" Scott finished. "Do you realize how crazy that sounds?"

"I've seen children's toys walk and talk like they were human." Alice said nonchalantly. "Time travel doesn't sound that bad."

"Since when did you get so smart?" Nica asked, curious that her niece knew this much about quantum energy to suggest time travel.

"Since a few years ago, when Thanos snapped everyone out of existence." Alice answered. "I want to bring Grandma back, Aunt Nica. Whatever it takes." Scott nodded, agreeing to go along with the plan.

"Alright, let's hope this works." Nica said. "What now?"

"We tell the Avengers, of course." Scott smiled, and began to start the engine on the van, while Alice lifted the warehouse garage door. "Come on, it's more than a two day drive there."

"Wait! We need to make a stop in Chicago." Nica spoke up. "We need to pick up a friend, he'll want in on this."

"Andy?" Alice asked. Nica nodded.

"Eh, why not?" Lang shrugged. "Chicago's on the way there. Maybe we can get a bite to eat while we're there, too."

* * *

Andy had been staking out Charles Lee Ray's apartment for the last few hours, hoping to see any cultists go inside. So far, unfortunately, no one even went near that street. Andy was just about ready to give up and leave, when he noticed two robed figures making their way towards the little brownstone. As luck would have it, the robes were exactly the same as the one worn by the guy Andy brutally tortured and murdered the day before.

"Gotcha." Andy smiled, exiting his black car and opened the back, revealing an assortment of weapons. Andy decided to pick out several throwing knives, two of his high powered pistols, his twelve gauge shotgun, and an AR-15 slung over his shoulder. Without a moment to waste, Andy shut the van back up, and began following the two cultists inside.

* * *

"Welcome, followers, to the Cult of Chucky!"

Andy walked down the apartment's narrow hallway, hearing a woman's loud voice.

"We have gathered tonight to worship the all powerful legend, Chucky, and of course, achieve immortality."

Andy braced himself against the doorframe, and looked through, seeing twenty or thirty other cultists in robes, with the lead one wearing a robe with crimson snakes. Andy also took a moment to notice her red hair. Almost ginger, like Chucky's.

"Let us begin: Ade Due Damballa, give us the power we beg of you!" the cult's leader chanted. Soon after, the rest of the cultists repeated the phrase three times over, before their leader shushed them.

"Now, as you all know, Chucky was my father." the woman revealed.

"Oh, fuck." Andy grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"He didn't always visit, but I still loved him." Chucky's daughter continued. "But five years ago, I stopped hearing from him. Funny, that was around the same time everyone around the world turned into dust. Ole' Dad would've had a kick out of that." The cultists began laughing loudly, until Andy fired one of his pistols in the air to make himself known.

"Five years ago, I made a deal with Thanos and gave him the Heart of Damballa, also known as the Soul Stone." Andy told everyone. "Soon after, he snapped his fingers, and half of everyone became ash. Including Chucky." The crowd of cultists gasped upon learning of the revelation.

"Don't feel too bad." Andy smirked, pulling out his AR. "You'll all see him soon." With that, Andy opened fire, shooting the first six or seven cult members dead. After that was complete chaos, with everyone running everywhere, and Andy trying to pick off as many as he could. His rifle ran out of ammunition quicker than he expected, but with no time to reload, he opted to use his shotgun, blowing the head off of one cultist, and bashing the skull of another. A second slug created a fist sized cavity in someone else's chest, and two more completely destroyed a fleeing member's legs. Andy ran out of slugs from the shotgun even quicker than the AR-15, so he grabbed his twin pistols and finished the crippled cultist, then followed by shooting all around at anyone that moved, as if he was in a Western movie. Not long after, the last one left alive was the cult leader, who had used another member as a shield.

"Fuck you, Andy Barclay!" the woman screamed. "You will suffer for what you have done!"

"You know me?" Andy asked, surprised.

"Yes, Dad spoke about you a lot when he did show up." the woman continued. "I am Glenda Ray, and you will pay for what you have done."

Right as Glenda finished speaker, she leapt forward, throwing a ritual knife at Andy, who was too slow to stop the blade from penetrating his leg. Andy growled in pain, kneeling to the floor, as Glenda uppercutted Andy. As Andy laid on his back, Glenda kicked his guns away, forcing him to pull out a knife from his boot.

"Your family is done hurting people." Andy told Chucky's daughter.

"Us?" Glenda laughed, pulling the knife out of Andy's leg. "It's because of you half the world is dead!" Glenda raised her blade, ready to kill Andy, but he was faster, whipping his knife out and embedding it under her chain. Surprised, Glenda grasped for her throat, as blood gushed everywhere from the open wound, and left the rest of her body defenseless. Seeing his chance, Andy swiped Ray's knife and jammed it through her ribcage, burying the weapon hilt deep into her heart.

"Tell your Dad I said hi." Andy muttered darkly, before getting and limping his way out of the apartment.

* * *

Right as Andy opened the door outside, he was greeted by Nica and Alice Pierce. He hadn't seen them in five years, not since he got back from space with the Avengers and told them they couldn't undo what Thanos did. Soon after, he joined up with the Punisher, that vigilante in Hell's Kitchen named Daredevil, and that bulletproof guy from Harlem to get crime under control in New York, before he eventually parted ways and went back to Chicago. In that time, Alice should have been around eighteen by now. She definitely looked older.

"Andy!" Alice greeted happily. For some reason he never could figure out, she always treated him like an uncle, even though they only really met once or twice before he left entirely back to Chicago. "It's good to see you again!" Andy looked at the Pierce's, trying to figure out what to say.

"You got taller." Andy barely mumbled, with a hint of a smile on his face. "Why are you guys here?"

"We think we've found a way to bring everyone back." Nica blurted out. "Well, actually, Alice thought of it."

"We already tried that. Didn't work." Andy muttered. "We went to that damned planet, and that asshole Thanos said himself that he destroyed the stones. It can't be undone."

"Just hear us out." Alice requested. "What if we go back in time and get the Infinity Stones from there?"

"Time travel?" Andy asked, confused. "Are you shitting me?"

"Not at all." Alice shook her head. "Look, we'll explain once we get to New York. We're going to have to tell the Avengers about this too."

"Do you have a ride?" Andy asked.

"No." Nica said bluntly. "We told Ant Man to just meet us there." Andy looked up to the sky, realizing why she said that.

"You did this so that I'd have to come along." Andy grumbled. Nica's and Alice's smirks confirmed everything. "Ah, fuck it. I'll have to lay low anyways, with the mess I made. Come on."

Andy led the Pierce's to his truck, which still had all his weapons in there, and they entered the passenger side.

"Ready to go?" Andy asked, sliding into the driver's seat. All he received were the two women nodding. Andy started the engine, and the truck roared to life, with Barclay ready to drive back to New York. "Alright. Let's get this over with. Hey, who the Hell is Ant Man?"


	4. Getting the Gang Back

The next day, Andy, Nica, and Alice made it to New York, without making any stops except for meals. When they arrived at the Avengers facility, Scott Lang was already waiting for them, leaning against the side of his van.

"That's Ant Man?" Andy asked. "I thought he'd be shorter."

"Yeah, ha ha." Scott said sarcastically. "Who are you?"

"Andy Barclay." Andy introduced himself. "Who's going to knock?"

"I'll do it." Scott volunteered. "The guys know me." Lang walked up to the front gate, and looked at one of the security cameras.

"Hey, is anybody home?" Scott called out. "It's me, Scott! You know, Ant Man? We met in Germany, I got really big…"

"Hopefully they're still there." Andy whispered. "Otherwise we just wasted a few days of driving." Pretty soon, Steve and Natasha began walking outside, with concerned looks on their faces.

"You were saying?" Nica said, with a ghost of a smile on her face.

* * *

"So basically, five years ago, I entered the quantum realm." Lang explained to the Avengers and Andy. "I just got out, because there was no one there to pull me out. Until, those two showed up." When he finished, Scott pointed towards Alice and Nica.

"Gosh Scott." Natasha expressed her condolences. "Must've been a long five years."

"That's the thing though." Scott told everyone. "It only felt like five hours. See, time doesn't work the same way down there. But, if we can find a way to direct it to where we want to go-"

"We can save everyone." Steve realized.

"Time travel." Andy mused. "And I thought I'd seen everything, after Chucky, then New York, and Kandahar…"

"We're going to need a lot of help." Natasha pointed out.

"We're going to see Stark, right?" Scott asked, sounding giddy.

"No shit, Sherlock." Andy muttered.

"Oh, I hope he hasn't held a grudge for messing up his suit." Lang said worriedly, as the Avengers and everyone exited the facility and towards their vehicles to visit Stark's home.

* * *

The Avengers, Barclay, and the Pierces arrived at Stark's home ten minutes later, and the first thing they saw was Tony walking back up the steps with a little girl, presumably his daughter. In his other hand was an Iron Man helmet, but painted blue and silver.

"Go back inside, Morgan." Tony told his daughter, then looked back at the group. "You better have a damn good reason for being here."

"We found a way to undo all this." Nica blurted out.

"Uh uh. No." Tony scoffed. "Stones were destroyed. You guys said so. It's done. It's over."

"Not necessarily." Steve told his friend. "If we can go back in time-"

"Like time travel?" Tony asked, bewildered. "Do you even know how to do that Steve? Actually, don't answer that, I already know-"

"Look, as long as we don't talk with our past selves, or give them winning numbers for football-" Scott was about to explain, but Stark stopped him.

"Lang, are you seriously basing your plan off of Back to the Future?"

"No?"

"Good, because that would be complete bullshit." Tony was about to go back inside, but Andy began to speak up.

"That's it, you'll let everyone who vanished stay dead?" Andy asked. "What about that kid, Parker? I saw how you reacted when he name came up on who died. He was like a son to you, wasn't he?" For a second, Tony stood there, motionless. Then, as quick as lightning, Andy felt himself falling on his back, his right jaw stinging in pain, and Stark was shaking hand from the punch.

"Alright, I deserved that one." Andy mumbled, realizing he went too far. Just then, Morgan came out.

"Mommy told me to rescue you." the girl said innocently.

"Great, I'm rescued." Tony smiled at his daughter, then looked at the Avengers. "If you guys don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch." With that, Stark went back inside.

"We need him for this to work." Scott said desperately, about to go back in and get Tony.

"No." Steve stopped Lang. "I want to do this, but it has to be right. We're going to need a brain."

"You mean bigger than him?" Scott asked, confused.

"Banner." Andy realized, getting up.

"Exactly." Natasha confirmed. "Let's go."

* * *

The Avengers, Andy, and the Pierces found themselves sitting with the Hulk in a cafe. Only, something seemed off. The Hulk was actually talking, and he sounded a lot like Banner. What's more, he was wearing glasses, and wearing clothes now.

"Oh, wow. Have you guys tried the eggs here?" Hulk/Banner asked. "They're great! Come on, have some!"

"Mister Hulk?" the waitress appeared, setting down a large plate of sausage links.

"Oh, thanks." Hulk smiled, before insisting he share his food with the Avengers. "C'mon, I feel like I'm the only one here!"

"Sorry, but… I don't quite get it." Scott tried forming the right words. "How did you-"

"I know, crazy, right? I'm wearing shirts now!" Hulk said excitedly. "Five years ago, Thanos came to Earth, we lost. And it hit me hard."

"Nobody blamed you, Bruce." Nat said reassuringly.

"I did." Bruce said sadly. "See, I lost twice. First Hulk lost, then I lost. Then we all lost. And then, I started looking at the Hulk as not the disease, but the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together. Best of both worlds."

"We're happy for you, Bruce. Really, we are." Steve told Banner. "But about our plan-"

"Right. The time travel do over." Bruce sighed, deep in thought. "I don't know. It sounds impossible."

"Well, there was a time you thought this was impossible, right?" Natasha reminded Bruce. Andy looked off into space, before noticing an African American man sitting in a corner booth. As Barclay squinted, he realized he knew him.

"Tyler?" Andy asked out loud.

"What?" Rogers asked.

"Sorry, I need some air." Andy lied, and got up to leave the table. Andy turned and walked towards the booth, glad that his old friend from military school didn't leave yet.

"Tyler?" Andy sat down in front of his friend, making himself known.

"Barclay?" Tyler stared with wide eyes, stunned. "Is that you?"

"Sure is, old friend." Barclay grinned. "How are you?"

"I'm trying to do my best after all that happened." Tyler mumbled, staring at his untouched coffee. "I'm still working on fixing planes. I think my dad would've been proud. He was one of the… vanished…"

"I'm sorry." Barclay said sincerely.

"And you?"

"In all honesty, I've been following in our old pal's footsteps." Andy informed Tyler truthfully. "I assume you've read about Frank's exploits as the Punisher?"

"Yeah. Hard not to feel bad for him." Tyler laughed hoarsely. "Even though I didn't see either of you after Kent, he always stood up for me before you showed up. One time, Shelton was picking on me, so Frank he… ha, he punched him right in the jaw. Probably knocked a tooth out too."

"Be glad you didn't see us much in Afghanistan, or Kandahar." Andy mused. "We barely made it out of there alive, and with our sanity to boot."

"There's another reason you're here though, isn't it?" Tyler guessed. Andy nodded, and pulled out a small utility knife, laying it on the table.

"I always wanted you to keep it." Andy told him. "It wasn't just supposed to be to fight off Chucky, all those years ago."

"It was a gift." Ronald realized, picking it up. "But why now? I'm sure you could have found me much earlier." Andy took a deep breath, knowing he was caught.

"I'm currently working with the Avengers on undoing what happened five years ago." Andy revealed. "But I'm not sure if it'll work, because we don't have the smartest guy on the team backing our play."

"Stark." Tyler muttered. Andy nodded.

"So, if this goes sideways, I just wanted to make sure you got that, in case I…" Barclay couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence, so he just got up. "It's good to see you again, Tyler." As he went back to join the Avengers, who looked ready to leave the cafe, he could hear his old friend say something softly, but still audible.

"And you too, Barclay."

* * *

Barclay walked into the facility's lab, where he found Banner Scott, and a recently returned Rhodey discussing time travel.

"Why can't we just go back in time, find Thanos as a baby, and-" Rhodey made hand motions of turning something, or someone, inside out, then pulling it apart.

"First of all, no, that's horrible." Banner said, disgusted despite Rhodey's protests. "Second, that never works."

"Oh yeah, then why does every movie about time travel say it does?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, like Terminator, Back to the Future, Bill and Ted-" Rhodey added.

"I don't know why all those movies do that, because it's not that simple." Hulk told them. "It'll happen anyway, because in a cosmic sense, it's already been done. Time wants to happen. Hell, all you'd be doing is maybe speeding up the process."

"But if we kill Thanos as a baby, he never grows up, and he never finds the stones." Rhodey counters.

"Even if that does work, there's something you overlooked." Andy argued. "What if that works, but whatever you try to prevent is replaced with something just as bad, if not worse?"

"What could be worse than half of all life dying?" Scott asked.

"Everyone else dying with it." Andy shrugged. Rhodey and Scott, sighed, realizing their defeat.

"So Back to the Future is a bunch of bullshit." Scott said depressingly.

Fifteen minutes later, Scott Lang was in his Ant Man suit, with Hulk figuring out how to send him through time in the quantum realm.

"Okay, I just gotta make sure the calculations are right, so we don't lose Tiny here in the 1950s." Hulk muttered, indicating Lang.

"Don't worry, he's kidding." Natasha grinned, then looked at Bruce, worried. "You are kidding, right?"

"I don't know." Banner admitted. "It's time travel. Either it's all a joke, or none of it is."

"Hey, where are you going?" Nica asked, noticing Andy was walking off.

"I just need to think right now." Andy said solemnly. "I'll be back soon."

Andy walked outside of the facility, lighting a blunt and taking a long drag. No sooner than when he took a puff, he had to stamp it out, as Rogers came out to join him, followed by Alice.

"What are you guys doing here?" Andy asked, noticing it had only been a few minutes.

"Didn't work." Rogers stated bluntly. "Something went wrong every time Scott went to the quantum realm."

"I figured." Andy revealed. "As smart as Banner is, he said himself he thought it was impossible."

"Andy, you missed it!" Alice told him. "Scott turned into a little kid, then an old man, and then a baby!" Just then, an expensive hot rod pulled up right next to the three, and Tony Stark stepped out.

"Let me guess: Scott turned into a baby?" Tony smirked. "One of the time paradoxes. Instead of moving Lang from time, you moved time through Lang."

"Among other things. What're you doing here?" Steve asked.

"I made this: a fully functional time travelling gps." Tony showed Rogers a small device on his wrist.

"What changed your mind?" Steve smiled. "Wait, was it Pepper?"

"You guys need me. And you're right, Barclay." Tony looked over to Andy. "Parker did mean something to me. I have to bring them back." Tony was about to walk inside, before he stopped.

"Oh, one more thing." Stark went to the hot rod's trunk, and pulled out Steve's shield. "This, belongs to you. Dad made it for you. It's yours. Besides, I need to get it out before Morgan goes sledding on it." Alice snickered, as Steve took the shield back.

"Hey, where's the rest of the team?" Tony asked, looking around.

"We're working on it." Steve said.


	5. Punishment and Intel

While the Avengers went to gather Thor and Hawkeye, as well as preparing their time machine, Andy had one last thing to take care of. Like last time, it was visiting an old friend, and luckily, he didn't have to walk too far.

Frank Castle's body crashed into a brick wall, while his attacker laughed. Frank looked up, wondering how the Hell he was going to get out of this one. His attacker was over seven feet tall, easy, had blonde hair, blue eyes, wore a red and white XXXXXL shirt, and was built like a tank, packing what seemed like six hundred pounds of muscle. He had heard rumors, but he never believed someone like the Russian was real.

"You are the Punisher, yes?" Russian laughed. "You've been causing many problems for good friend, Ma Gnucci."

"After Thanos wiped out half the universe, the world has been in chaos." Frank muttered, spitting up blood. "The Gnucci's have been taken advantage for the last five years."

"So?" Russian asked, picking Frank up by his leather jacket. "As you Americans say, 'just business', yes?" Russian frowned, looking down and seeing that Castle had stuck a knife in his midsection.

"Seriously?" the Russian laughed, throwing Frank to the ground and pulling the knife out. "You expect to hurt the Russian with toothpick?"

"Worth a shot." Frank grumbled, slowly getting back up. As the Russian lumbered towards him, Frank examined his options. He had already run out of ammunition, that tank of a man soaked up everything like a sponge. The knife clearly had no effect. Castle obviously couldn't take the Russian on in a fist fight, Hell, he could barely stand.

"Uh oh, looks like Punisher is cornered like small animal!" the Russian smirked. Frank sighed, expecting this to be his last fight, when all of a sudden, a shot rang out. Confused, the Russian turned around, with Castle looking over his shoulder. What he saw was a bearded guy in a brown jacket, holding a smoking gun.

"Barclay?"

"How's it hanging, Frank?" Andy asked casually. "Jesus. I just shot this fucker in the back of the head. Does he have a vibranium skull or something?"

"I don't have vibratum, or whatever!" the Russian shouted, rushing over to Andy and lifting him up. "I am Russian!"

"Don't really give a shit." Andy spat, and pulled out a blowtorch, severly burning the Russian's face.

"Aagh!" the Russian screamed. "It burns!" Neither of them noticed Frank creeping up behind them, until Castle wrapped his arms around the huge man's neck and snapped it instantly.

"Jesus!" Andy yelled, just now noticing how close Frank was.

"Hang on, gotta make sure he's dead." Frank mumbled, pulling out his knife and began sawing at the neck. "So how you been since what happened?"

"I tracked down that cult of Chucky worshippers in Chicago." Andy began, remembering the last few days. "Thanks for teaching me all the torture shit back in Kandahar, though."

"Put it to good use, huh?" the Punisher asked, continuing to saw through the neck.

"Damn right." Andy smirked. "And what about you, Frank? Business as the Punisher is great after Thanos killed half the universe?"

"God damned right." Frank muttered. "Maybe I should thank you." Andy's blood ran cold.

"Yeah, you think I don't know that?" Frank asked, pausing from cutting into the Russian's head. "I know you, Andy. You gave one of the stones to Thanos." Andy lowered his head in shame, knowing there's no fighting it.

"I thought his intentions were good." Andy admitted. "Perhaps he still believed they were. He removed Chucky's soul from Nica, and right afterwards, he gave Nica her legs back."

"And then he turned half of everyone into ashes." Frank finished. "Is that why you keep shying away from the Avengers? I was in that cafe too."

"I… yeah." Andy confessed. "I don't feel like I belong, especially after giving the Soul Stone."

"Didn't that magician guy hand over one of the other stones?" Frank inquired. "The Avengers and I have mutual friends in Red and Cage."

"Yes…" Andy tried saying. "But Strange is dead."

"Either way, you two are more or less in the same boat." Frank told Barclay. "I'm sure you had a reason to give him the stone, but what's done is done. The only thing you can do is look forward."

"Funny you say that, because the Avengers are planning on using time travel to undo all this." Andy brought up.

"You should go." Frank urged. "It'll be a good way to redeem yourself, if you still think you're condemned."

"Is that a good idea?" Andy asked. "It might not even work."

"Barclay, you won't know if you don't try." Frank shrugged. "Besides, if you're going back in time, you'd know all about the Soul Stone and where it is, right?"

"That's true." Andy realized. "Chucky had it for a few years before Thanos snapped."

"There you go, then. The Avengers need your help." Frank turned back to the Russian's body, sawing off the last bit of the neck and tearing the head off. "Be seeing you, Barclay. I gotta drop off a present for Ma Gnucci." As Castle began walking off, Andy smirked to himself. Despite being the big bad Punisher, Frank Castle somehow knew what to say to give his friends that boost of personal courage.

* * *

Andy returned to the facility, noting that Thor was brought back, but he looked… different. His hair and beard were a long mess, he was wearing sunglasses and drinking beer, and he had a gut.

"On your right, Lebowski." Tony joked, moving past the god of thunder with some machinery parts. Andy followed where Stark was going, and it appeared that he and Rocket were just finishing on their time machine. Andy shook his head and entered the lab, finding Banner and Scott arguing.

"Don't touch those!" Scott yelled, holding up a vial of red fluid. "These are Pym Particles, and since Hank Pym is gone, there's no more left. We only have enough for one go around for everyone and two test runs."

"So who will do a test run?" Hulk asked.

"I'll go." Hawkeye volunteered, having walked quietly up to Andy. "What do I have to lose?"

After Stark and Banner got the quantum tunnel set up, Barton was given the time travelling gps, and he was ready to go.

"Okay, Clint, we're sending you back five years." Banner announced. "After ten seconds, we're bringing you back."

"Got it." Barton gave a thumbs up, and Bruce sent him through the tunnel. After ten seconds, just as Bruce said, Barton appeared once more and he smiled victoriously.

"It works." Barton grinned.

"Amazing. Now, the stones are all part of our history. We've all come into contact with at least one" Steve remarked.

"Or rather, we've been nearly killed by one." Tony retorted.

"Either way, we need to figure out when and where we're going to get the stones. Thor, let's start with you." Steve declared, then turned around. "Thor?" Everyone turned around, seeing Thor napping in a corner.

"Is he sleeping?" Scott asked.

"Nah, pretty sure he's dead." Rhodey joked.

* * *

Andy, Nica, Alice, and the Avengers all sat down in the conference room, while Thor stood up and talked about the Reality Stone.

"Now, the Reality Stone… actually, it's not even a stone, more like a red sludge." Thor muttered, clearly drunk. "Anyway, my grandfather got into this big war with the Dark Elves thousands of years ago, and he tried to destroy the stone, which was called the Aether, but he couldn't, so he put it in some rock. Anyway, one time, my girlfriend, well, ex, she stuck her hand in that rock, and the Aether was inside her." Throughout the whole time, Andy looked around, noticing that Nica and Alice were confused, the Avengers seemed bored, but Scott was intrigued.

"The power stone was kept in an orb on the planet Morag." Nebula explained to everyone. "In 2014, Peter Quill stole it for a petty dealer, until he realized Ronan the Accuser wanted it. At that time, my father, my sister, and I were working with Ronan to gain the stone."

"Wait, what caused you to work with the Guardians?" Nica asked.

"First my sister defected and helped Quill." Nebula explained. "You met her. She was with Thanos when he took the Soul Stone from you. I followed after, once my sister and I bonded in our mutual hatred of our father. Forcing us to fight. Turning me into- this." Nebula indicated her cyborg parts. "He even fitted me with an eye that records everything, and is part of a neural network that my father can access whenever he wants."

"Hold up." Alice cut in. "If he access your video memories whenever he wants, you think it'll be possible that he can do that if you travel back to 2014, but from the other version of you?" Nebula blinked, realizing what was implied.

"I never thought of it that way." Nebula frowned. "Perhaps I should not go to Morag."

"-So, the time stone. Doctor Strange had it." Bruce told Romanoff and Tony, while the rest of the Avengers went to work on the time machine.

"What kind of doctor was he?" Black Widow asked, while eating chinese takeout and laying on the ground.

"Not sure." Stark admitted. "But on the bright side, Loki's scepter and the Tesseract are in the same place, at the same time."

"Hang on." Natasha realized. "There's three Infinity Stones in New York at the same time."

"Shut the front door." Bruce said, dumbfounded. Sometime later, the Avengers walked back into the conference room, where Andy gave the rundown on the Soul Stone.

"I originally knew the Soul Stone as the Heart of Damballa." Andy began, showing a newspaper clipping of Charles Lee Ray, with the headline **Lakeshore Strangler Finally Dead!** Around his neck was the Heart of Damballa necklace. "It's what Charles Lee Ray used to transfer his soul into the doll Chucky in 1988, and keep killing for decades. From my own research, the Heart was recovered in 1998, when the police in New Jersey exhumed Ray's body when his fingerprints were found on a lighter. Right before Thanos took the stone, he used it to transfer his soul into multiple dolls at once, before possessing Nica's body."

"Basically, there's a ten year window to get the Soul Stone." Alice pointed out. "It's just buried in Charles Lee Ray's grave."

"Be that as it may, we'd be raising too much suspicion in grave robbing." Captain America pointed out.

"Don't worry, I've already figured out the point in time I'm going to." Andy decided. "I'm travelling to just minutes after his death, on November 9th, 1988. The exact same time he died, he transferred his soul into Chucky, which caused an explosion in the toy store he was trapped in. I'll bet no one will notice if I sneak in, grab the amulet, and hightail it out of there."

"You'll need some backup." Barton told him.

"I'll be fine." Andy shrugged it off. "The only ones there will be a dead man and a cop. Besides, I work better alone."

"Your call." Barton shrugged.

"I'll go to Morag." Rhodey volunteered. "Nebula, I'll need you to tell me all the details."

"Of course." Nebula replied. "But you will need someone going with you."

"Count me in." Romanoff joined. "Always wanted to see other worlds. Besides the one Thanos was on."

"Me too." Barton offered. "You'll need someone watching your six."

"I'll get the time stone." Hulk spoke up. "I've met Doctor Strange before, I can probably convince him to hand it over for a bit."

"Tony, Scott, and I will go with with, to pick up the Tesseract and scepter." Steve added.

"I'd like to go as well." Nica requested. "You guys sound like you'll be spread thin. One of you might need a hand."

"Eh, why the Hell not?" Tony shrugged. "The more the merrier."

"I shall get the Aether." Thor decided. "And I would like to bring my friend rabbit with me."

"For the last time, I'm not a rabbit." Rocket grumbled. "But sure, I'll go."

"Hey, what about me?" Alice asked, irritated that she was left out.

"We need you to stay behind." Nica told her niece. "I know you're eighteen, but this is dangerous. I wouldn't be able to live myself if you got hurt."

"Besides, I'd need someone to help me make sure they all come back at the right moment." Nebula added, trying to sound helpful. Alice huffed, grumbling about being left out of the adventure, and sat down.

"Alright, we have six stones. Four teams. Four locations." Steve announced, looking at the screen. "Suit up."

* * *

Everyone who was leaving got into their quantum tunnel suits, and stood waiting on the pad.

"Okay, for us, this will take as long as we need. But for you two-" Banner waved towards Alice and Nebula. "You'll only find ten seconds have passed by."

"See you in a minute." Natasha joked, smiling at Rhodey and Barton.

"Powering up in three… two… one…" Nebula announced. Below them, the pad began to glow, and everyone set their gps to the appropriate date, their helmets came over their faces, and the groups shrunk down to navigate the quantum realm and went back in time.


	6. Time Heist

_New York, 2012_

Steve, Tony, Scott, Bruce, and Nica landed in New York, during the battle with the Chitauri.

"Everyone alright?" Steve asked, looking around and seeing everyone made it. "Okay. Our past selves are here, so we need to be discreet about this." Right after he said that, Rogers saw the Hulk from the past smash a Chitauri chariot, then leap away. "Maybe smash along the way."

"I think it's gratuitous, but whatever." Bruce shrugged, and pretended to smash vehicles, before leaping up to go find Doctor Strange.

"Well, that happened." Tony commented. "Let's get to the tower." Stark activated his suit, which formed around him, while Ant Man shrunk down and clung to his shoulder, and Nica held on.

"I'm going after the scepter, I'll take the other way." Steve announced, and Iron Man flew away.

The three ascended to through a shattered window at the top of Stark Tower and snuck in, where they found the Avengers apprehending Loki.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." the god of mischief requested. Unfortunately for him, the Avengers were having none of it.

"Alright, we see the scepter." Nica announced in the earpiece. "We can get it now."

"No!" Tony whisper shouted. "We need to move. Someone's coming right… now." The three quickly moved to the other side of Stark's penthouse, being discreet as possible, as what looked like agents of Shield coming out of the elevator.

"We'll take that." the leader told the Avengers, taking the scepter and putting it in a long metal case and leaving in a different elevator. The Tony Stark from the past then grabbed the Tesseract and put it in another case.

"Scott, you're up." Tony said, and flicked Ant Man towards past Stark's shirt and hid inside. "Alright Pierce, let's go." Tony grabbed Nica and jumped out the window, while at the same time, his iron suit formed around him. The two flew down to the ground floor, where they located two Shield agents, stealthily knocked them out via chokeholds, and stole their uniforms.

"What's the plan?" Nica asked, as they walked inside to find the Avengers arguing with a well dressed man, flanked by Shield agents.

"We steal the Tesseract by breaking up our fight with Alexander Pierce." Stark explained, before stopping and looking at Nica. "Say, you two aren't related, are you?"

"Actually yes." Nica told him. "More like a step brother though."

"Huh." Stark muttered. "I remember Fury trying to convince me to visit Alex's niece's birthday party, way back in 2014."

"That would've been Alice." Nica guessed. "He most likely suggested it because her parents were killed a year prior."

"Great, now I feel like a total asshole for not going." Tony groaned.

"Well, she got to meet you anyway." Nica shrugged, before turning back to the past Avengers.

"Are you sure this won't kill you?" Ant Man asked through comms.

"Yes, you're just giving me a small cardiac arrest." Tony reassured Lang, who seconds later, must have pulled something in Stark's arc reactor, because he fell to the ground mid sentence.

"Stark? Stark!" Thor yelled, while a gagged Loki looked down in confusion.

"Medic!" the present Stark yelled. "We need a medic here!" As everyone was scrambling around to revive the past Stark, the disguised Tony went and picked up the case with the Tesseract. "Well, that was easy." Seconds later, the door next to Tony was flung open, and the Hulk barged through, clearly furious.

"SO MANY STAIRS!" Hulk screamed. It was obvious this was not Bruce's mind in the Hulk's body. The moment Tony's body hit the ground, he let go of the Tesseract's case.

"Shit!" Nica yelled, and ran in the direction of the flying case, nearly sliding on her knees to catch it like a football.

"Stark, I don't know if this'll work, but here goes." Thor told Tony, and tapped Mjolnir against the arc reactor. A tiny bolt of lightning surged, and Stark was saved from a heart attack. Loki, unable to say anything, glared at Nica, who looked up and smirked.

"Not today, asshole." Nica grinned and walked back towards the disguised Tony.

"Great save." Tony whispered, and the two walked out of Stark Tower with the Tesseract.

"Hey, wait up!" Scott called out, hopping onto Nica's shoulder.

Ten Minutes later, Steve and Banner returned to their rendezvous point with the time stone and scepter.

"You got the Tesseract?" Steve asked. Nica nodded, holding up the small case.

"This worked out perfectly." Tony genuinely smiled. "Now let's get out of here."

"Hang on, there's something we should know." Bruce told the group. "We have to return the stones once we're finished with them, or else the timelines will be changed forever."

"How big of a change?" Nica asked.

"Enough to make what Thanos did look good." Bruce said gravely.

"So we just drop the stones back at the moments we took them." Scott reasoned. "Problem solved. It'll be like they never left."

"Okay, sure." Tony shrugged, and activated his time gps. "Let's just get back." Steve, Bruce, Scott, and Nica all nodded in agreement, and activated their own gps'. Within seconds, they shrunk down into the quantum realm and travelled back to the present.

* * *

_Morag, 2014_

Rhodey, Hawkeye, and Black Widow arrived on what appeared to be a barren planet, surprised that there was air to breath on it.

"So this is Morag." Rhodey remarked. "It's actually better than I thought."

"Let's go, we need to find the Power Stone." Barton declared, beginning to step forward.

"Hold on, Quill's here." Rhodey informed. "Before he was part of the Guardians, he was working on his own. And Nebula said that he was after the orb."

"So, where is he?" Natasha asked.

"Just up ahead." Rhodey said nonchalantly, and the three made their way towards the orb's temple, eventually having to get behind cover as Peter Quill looked like he was dancing around.

"Come and get your love! Yeah!" Quill could be heard singing.

"Nebula forgot to mention he was a dumbass." Rhodey murmured, as Barton snuck up from behind and knocked Peter out with his bow. "Search his jacket. Nebula said there should be a lock pick." Natasha obliged, and indeed found a pick in one of the pockets. Wasting no time, the group unlocked the temple and filed inside, where they entered a room with only the orb, suspended by a force field as if it was on display.

"Who wants to try to get it?" Natasha asked, before shouting, "Not it!"

"Not it!" Barton replied.

"Not- damn!" Rhodey cursed. War Machine flexed his suit's fingers, hoping that the armor would keep the force field from hurting him, and stretched his arm out. Rhodey kept inching his hand forward, before pushing quickly into the force field, and the barrier instantly began to burn the metal. Rhodey grit his teeth in concentration, grabbing a hold of the orb, and quickly pulled his arm out, using more strength and effort than when he had to shove it in.

"Got it." Rhodey smirked, then looked at his gauntlet, which was nearly completely destroyed. "Aw shit."

"Let's go." Natasha announced. "We got what we came for." Rhodey and Barton nodded in agreement, and activated their time gps'.

"3...2...1." the trio said in unison, and they shrunk down with the orb into the quantum realm, travelling back to the year 2023.

* * *

_2023_

"So how does this whole thing work, exactly?" Alice asked Nebula. "I know I was originally thinking about going back to take the stones, but I thought everyone who vanished was wiped out of existence."

"Not entirely." Nebula explained. "There is a separate dimension the Soul Stone uses to gather everyone who fell to my father. A… Soul World, if you will."

"But if the stones were destroyed, isn't that destroyed?" Alice probed.

"Just because a gateway is destroyed, doesn't mean the place is completely gone." Nebula shrugged. "Most likely, the stones from the past will be able to access the dimension."

"Andy mentioned that when Thanos freed Aunt Nica, he saw what looked like Chucky's soul exit her body and get sucked into the stone." Alice frowned, trying to remember. "So, he'll come back with everyone else?"

"It's possible." Nebula nodded. "I believe he said that only a piece of Charles Lee Ray's soul was taken. The rest vanished along with half of all life."

"Andy also mentioned something else." Alice realized. "When you all confronted Thanos, he said that when he destroyed the stones, it nearly killed him, and Andy said he looked like he was in pain." Nebula's eyes widened in horror. It did not go unnoticed by Pierce.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

"It's… nothing." Nebula quickly lied. "Just an odd feeling."

"If it has to do with Thanos, then we could be in for a fight before this is all over." Alice declared, walking off and grumbling about things never being that simple.

"Where are you going?" Nebula asked, confused.

"To round up who I can." Alice replied, pulling out her phone and preparing to make a few calls.

* * *

_Chicago, 1988_

It had only been a second, but for Andy, it felt like hours until he arrived at his destination. Maybe it was because he went further back than anyone else. Maybe it was because he closed his eyes. Whatever the reason, once he finally opened them, Barclay found himself in an alley, just next to the Play Pals toy store. As Andy quietly opened the door, he realized something else; the lock was shot off, and the emergency siren was ringing.

"You hear this, you son of a bitch!" Andy heard Charles Lee Ray scream out somewhere in the store. "I'm gonna get you for this! I'm gonna get you, and I'm gonna get Eddie, no matter what!" Andy shivered, remembering exactly how Charles 'got' to Eddie. He had used Andy to take him to Caputo's hideout, then brutally murdered him by blowing his house up. While walking, Andy pulled out his gun, just in case.

"Ade due Damballa, give me all the power I beg of you!" Charles began chanting, signalling that he was transferring his soul into the Good Guy doll.

"Shit." Andy muttered, quickly running toward the sound of Ray's voice. Once the lightning struck and blew up the store, he'd have a small window to take the Heart of Damballa. As Charles continued chanting, Andy kept running, eventually finding, eventually finding the Lakeshore Strangler laying on the ground, with his bloodied hands grasping the Chucky doll.

"Boise boise, Damballa!" Charles finally yelled, finishing the chant. Andy looked up, watching a bolt of lightning descended down from the Heavens, striking through the skylight and touching down directly where Charles lay.

"Oh fuck-" Andy only had seconds to take cover, opting to crouch behind a pillar in the store, while everything else was thrown around from the explosion. Amidst the chaos, Andy saw Detective Mike Norris being thrown backward, and couldn't help but feel a twinge a guilt for not warning him. However, he needed to get this done as quickly as possible. Without a moment to lose, Andy walked up to Charles' corpse, paying no attention to the Chucky doll, and ripped off the Heart of Damballa from Ray's neck, hearing a rip of the necklace.

"Don't worry, I'll give it back." Andy smirked, and turned around to come face to face with Norris.

"Who are you?" Mike inquired.

"Easy. I'm… from Shield." Andy lied.

"Shield?" Mike frowned. "I didn't think you guys would be out this far. I'm Detective Mike Norris, Chicago PD. What do you guys want?"

"I was sent to assist in capturing Charles Lee Ray." Andy continued, looking down at the body. "Guess even we were too late."

"Guess so." Norris nodded. "I'll have to call this in. Care to stick around for a statement?"

"No. I have to report back to the Director ASAP." Andy told the Detective, and began walking outside.

"Can I at least get your name for the paperwork?" Mike asked. Andy closed his eyes, trying to think of a name to tell.

"Thomas… Pierce." Andy finally decided. "Take care, Detective." And with that, Andy left the destroyed toy store. Having gotten a hold of the Heart of Damballa, Andy ducked back into the same alley and activated the time gps, preparing to return to 2023.

"Here goes nothing." Andy shrugged, shrinking down the quantum realm and travelled back to the future.


	7. The Endgame, Part 1

_2023_

"3... 2… 1."

Nebula opened the quantum tunnel, and the Avengers, Andy, and Nica returned to the present, each group having their infinity stones.

"We all got them, right?" Tony asked, holding up the Tesseract. War Machine held up the Orb. Hulk showed everyone the Time Stone, while Steve produced Loki's Scepter. Thor took out a vial with a flowing red liquid, presumably the Aether, as well as laid his old hammer, Mjolnir, against his side. Finally, Andy held out the Heart of Damballa.

"And we didn't lose anyone along the way." Scott said, grinning from ear to ear. "Great!"

"How does this work?" Andy asked, handing the Heart to Tony. "The stone is encased inside that crystal."

"Well, back when we were fighting Ultron, he used an intense heat to crack these eggs." Tony joked. "Guess we'll have to do the same." In an instant, Stark's nanotech formed a gauntlet around his hand, and he extended a finger to shoot a laser at the scepter, shattering the blue crystal and revealing the yellow Mind Stone. He did the same with the Tesseract, crushing it to take the Space Stone, and opened the orb to take the Power Stone. Once he got to the Heart of Damballa, Andy made sure he was careful enough to leave the amulet intact, and only broke the outer shell of the Soul Stone.

"What now?" Rhodey asked. "All we did was scratch the surface and made them stones again."

"Now… we make our own gauntlet." Banner replied, following Tony and Rocket to the lab.

"Hey, where's Alice?" Nica asked, looking around.

"She had to take care of something." Nebula said cryptically. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"You let her leave?" Nica asked, her anger rising. "She's a kid!"

"Nica, I'm sure she's fine." Andy reassured Pierce. "She's eighteen. Besides, she helped come up with this whole plan."

"But…" Nica tried to say, but Andy interrupted.

"I swear, she's okay." Andy reassured her again. "Come on, let's join the rest of the Avengers."

* * *

Nearly half an hour later, Stark and Banner finally finished their version of the Infinity Gauntlet, watching as it glowed with cosmic power.

"Yes, we got it!" Tony cheered.

"So who gets to wear the frickin thing?" Rocket asked.

"I'll do it." Thor volunteered, drunkenly swaying. "What else can I lose?"

"Hold on." Rogers stopped the god of thunder. "You're not in your right mind right now."

"You dare challenge me?" Thor sneered, and the two began arguing. Soon, everyone else joined into the argument, before Banner spoke up.

"Enough!" Hulk roared. "I'll do it."

"Bruce, are you sure?" Natasha asked. "What if it kills you?"

"It might." Banner admitted. "But most of the energy coming off that is gamma. It's like I was made for this."

"Just think about everyone coming back." Andy told Hulk. "Help me fix my fuck up." Hulk nodded, and began putting his hand in the Gauntlet.

"They all come back." Banner said out loud, and slipped on the Gauntlet. Instantly, the stones began burning Banner's arm, and the Avengers took defensive positions, including locking the facility down.

"Bruce!" Natasha yelled. "Are you okay?" Thor made a move to pull the Gauntlet off, but Banner stopped him.

"I'm fine!" Hulk shouted. "I'm okay!" Bruce held his arm up for everyone to see, and despite his arm feeling like fire, he put his thumb and middle finger together and snapped, causing a blinding light to emerge from the Gauntlet and forcing everyone to avert their eyes.

Andy was one of the first to open his eyes, noticing the facility was no longer under lockdown.

"Did it work?" Rocket asked, looking around. Andy turned to the right, seeing Hawkeye and Scott walking away and checking their phones. Quickly, Barclay pulled out his, noticing that Kyle was calling him.

"Holy shit." Andy cried in relief. Within seconds, he opened his phone to hear his best friend and foster sister speaking on the other end.

"Kyle?"

"Andy?" Kyle asked. "What's going on? One minute, my hands were becoming ash, and the next, I'm back here in the cabin!"

"Oh God." Andy whispered, turning to the Avengers. "Guys, it worked! Everyone's back!"

"Andy- shit!" Kyle swore.

"Kyle, what is it?" Andy asked, frowning.

"It's Chucky, his head isn't nailed down!" Kyle said through the phone. "Andy, he's- fuck!"

"Kyle, what-"

Before he could ask what was going on, Andy was thrown from an explosion that rocked the entire facility, pinning him down underneath some rubble. The last thing he heard from his phone was Kyle grunting in frustration.

* * *

Nica's eyes fluttered open, as she looked around to find herself trapped under some rubble. Nica looked around, seeing Rhodey getting out of his War Machine armor and going to help Rocket, while Hulk was easily holding up the crumbling ceiling.

"Shit!" Pierce cursed. "What the Hell happened?"

"Thanos." Banner growled. "He's attacking our damn facility."

"That's impossible." Nica argued. "He's dead. You and Andy confirmed it."

"Hey, let's worry about that later." Rocket told her. "And let's get out of here, yeah?" Rhodey nodded, lifting the rubble and letting Rocket out from underneath, before going to help Nica. Just as Rhodey began lifting the piece of rock, Nica noticed her phone ring a few feet away, with the call ID saying "Pierce, Alice".

"Oh God, hurry!" Nica told Rhodey. "My niece is calling!"

"No time!" Banner shouted, momentarily dropping the rubble to grab ahold of Rhodey, Nica, and Rocket. "We have to get out of here now!" Before Nica could argue, Bruce jumped up through ruined ceiling, making it outside of the crumbling facility.

* * *

Andy woke up groggy, feeling like he had a splitting headache. Lucky for him, he wasn't trapped under anything, so he got up and joined Thor at the edge of the platform.

"You lose this again, I'm keeping it." Andy could hear Stark telling Captain America, presumably about his shield. Andy stared straight ahead, following Thor's gaze, which rested upon the Mad Titan, simply sitting in the middle of the destroyed facility with a huge dual sword.

"Impossible." Barclay gasped. "I watched you kill him."

"I don't know how he came back, but sometimes, death is not the end." Thor murmured. "I know my brother would seemingly resurrect multiple times."

"What's he doing?" Tony asked, with him and Rogers joining them.

"Nothing." was Thor's only reply. "He's just sitting there. Waiting."

"The Gauntlet, along with everyone else, is still down there." Stark informed.

"As long as Thanos doesn't have it. And we need to keep it that way." Steve decided. "You know it's a trap, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't really care." Stark said casually.

"Good. Just so we're all in agreement." Thor reached out, and both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker flew to him, giving him a supercharge of lightning. "We'll kill him properly this time."

Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Andy slowly walked out towards Thanos, who tossed a small rock away.

"Amazing. You couldn't live with your own failure, and it brought you back to me." Thanos commented. "I thought by eliminating half of all life, the universe would thrive. But that is impossible, because as long as there are those who remember, they will resist."

"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn." Tony said sarcastically. Before Thanos could retort, Andy stepped forward, pointing his pistol at the Mad Titan's head.

"How the fuck are you still alive?!" Andy demanded, clearly furious. "I watched you die!"

"You did." Thanos nodded. "But you should know by now that not even death can stop someone from coming back."

"What are you talking about?" Andy asked.

"I merely took a page from Charles Lee Ray's book and separated my soul, just like he did." Thanos explained. "Only, I hid a piece of myself in the Soul Stone, in a… Soul World, if you will. In a way, I'm thankful to you, and Ray."

"I don't need your thanks." Andy spat. "You killed my best friend, along with countless families on Earth alone."

"And now, I know what I must do." Thanos got up, placing his helmet on himself. "I will shred this universe down to the last atom, and build it anew, with the stones you undoubtedly collected from the past. The universe will be teeming with life, without knowing what it lost, but what it has been given. A truly grateful universe."

"Born out of blood." Rogers argued.

"They'll never know." Thanos smirked. "Because none of you will be around to tell them." With that, Thor yelled a battle cry, and he, Iron Man, and Captain America charged Thanos, with Andy staying back to continuously fire his gun at the Mad Titan. Between Thanos' armor, and the constant fighting of the three Avengers, Andy couldn't get off a decent shot. Not that it mattered, as the bullets had little to no effect on him anyway.

Iron Man was knocked back a few feet, but he just got back up and opened several panels in the armor's backside, revealing a type of generator.

"Okay, Thor, hit me!" Tony shouted, and Thor brought both his hammers together, sending a surge of electricity into Iron Man and helping him blast his repulsors at an immense power towards Thanos. Unfortunately, the Mad Titan spun his sword like a fan, deflecting the beams and quickly closing in on Stark. Thor attempted to stop him by hitting Mjolnir like a baseball, but Thanos quickly picked up Iron Man and used him to take the hit. The blow knocked Stark back a mile, rendering him unconscious, while Thor ran towards Thanos to continue their battle.

Captain America double kicked Thanos in the face and tried to block a punch with his shield, but the Mad Titan's strike was strong enough to plow him through a rock formation and temporarily downed Rogers. Without a moment passing, Thanos threw his sword towards a charging Thor, who slid to the ground and continued his assault. The god of thunder didn't count on his sword spinning back towards its master, who caught it and blocked a hit from Stormbreaker. Seeing his chance, Thor swung upwards, disarming Thanos, but he was soon outmatched, as Thanos ripped the axe out of Thor's hands and lifted him up by the neck. Thanos then slammed the god's back into a rock and began beating on him mercilessly, even catching Stormbreaker when Thor attempted to call his weapon towards him. Getting a sinister idea, Thanos brought the axe down towards Thor's chest, attempted to stab him the same way he was.

"You stabbed me, then went for my head." Thanos sneered. "Only fair I do the same to you." Suddenly, Thanos was knocked off balance, as Mjolnir flew into his side. The hammer stopped in mid air, and watched as it flew back, finding its way into the hand of Captain America.

"I knew it." Thor grinned. Thanos simply replied with a kick to his face, rendering Thor unconscious, and began engaging Rogers in battle. Steve ran towards Thanos, uppercutting him with the hammer, and followed with tossing his shield and having Mjolnir ricocheting off and hitting Thanos in the face. At that point, Rogers was close enough to hit the Titan, and he delivered a kick to the stomach and multiple shield strikes to the face, before using Mjolnir to blast lightning at Thanos. The leader of the Black Order was thrown to the ground, and the Captain called upon another lightning storm, which touched down on Thanos and shattered his helmet. Steve jumped up and swung the hammer down, trying to land a hit on Thanos' face, but he rolled out of the way and picked Rogers up by the neck, slamming him to the ground. Thanos picked up his sword and took off the pieces of his helmet, before beating down on Captain America, who brought up his shield and hammer for defense. No sooner did the beating start, Thanos saw a weak point and exploited it, stabbing Rogers in the leg with his sword and swatting Mjolnir away. The Captain tried to block Thanos' sword with his shield, but his eyes widened, noticing the sword chipped part of the vibranium off. Thanos swung again and again, until half of the shield was broken off. Thanos smiled, swinging his sword in an upward arc and sent Steve flying several yards away.

Thanos smirked, slowly walking towards Rogers, when Andy revealed himself, pointing his gun right at the Made Titan's face.

"Enough, Thanos." Andy said, sounding tired. He knew full well he couldn't defeat Thanos, but he had to try. "Everyone's brought back. You've lost."

"I've barely begun, Barclay." Thanos growled, and even as Andy continued firing what was left in his pistol, Thanos didn't even slowly down, until he was within arms length of him. By that point, Barclay was all out of ammunition, and gun kept uselessly clicking.

"You are the most ungrateful of everyone, Barclay." Thanos sneered. "I ripped Charles Lee Ray's soul from the body of Nica Pierce. I gave her legs movement! Charles even died with the universe was brought to balance!"

"The cost was too great!" Andy shouted. "You murdered my friend, along with countless others!" Before Andy could continue ranting, Thanos backhanded him, where he landed next to Captain America.

"In all my years of conquest, and slaughter, it was never personal." Thanos revealed to Steve and Andy. "But I tell you now, I'm going to annoy your stubborn, annoying little planet. Very, very much." Once he finished speaking, beams of light descended from the sky, unleashing the remains of Thanos' army. Chitauri, Outriders, and Sakaarans all formed ranks behind Thanos, right in front of the Chitauri Gorillas and Leviathans, with Thanos' ship, Sanctuary II, looming above everything else.

Captain America slowly got up, with the help of Andy, and walked out to meet Thanos' army, out of breath, but soldiered on none the left.

"What do we do?" Andy asked, looking worried.

"We fight." Steve told him, tightening the strap on his broken shield. "I can do this all day."

"So can I." Andy wore a determined look on his face and reloaded his gun. "I'm done running, and I'm done hiding." As the two continued walking, Andy thought he heard some type of garble in Rogers' ear.

"_Hey, Cap… can you hear me?"_

"Sam?" Steve asked, confused. Out of the corner of his eye, Andy noticed a portal open in the back, with a blinding light coming forth.

"_On your left."_

Captain America turned around, seeing the same portal Andy did, but this time, it was more clearer. There were three people who first exited the portal, whom Andy knew from the news as Black Panther, his sister Shuri, and his bodyguard Okoye. T'Challa gave the Captain a small nod, and Sam Wilson, also known as Falcon, flew out of the same portal, as hundreds of other portals opened up across the battlefield, giving pause to Thanos and his army.

Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Spider Man emerged from one of the portals, exiting what appeared to be a planet that looked similar to the ruins of the facility at the moment.

Behind Black Panther were the armies of Wakanda, being led by Bucky barnes, Groot, and M'Baku, with their ships flying through another portal. The portal right next to them opened up into space, where the Ravagers came through, accompanied by an anthropomorphic duck.

Valkyrie, Korg, and Miek led the Asgardians refugees, with Wanda Maximoff landing next to them.

Doctor Strange's lifelong friend, Wong, opened a portal and joined the Masters of the Mystic Arts, where they prepared a defensive stance. In the middle of it all, Hope Van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, grew back to normal size to join them.

Three other portals opened, with Andy recognizing who was on the tail end. In the first were undoubtedly people the Avengers have fought before, which included Hulk's rival, the Abomination, a group of mercenaries led by Batroc, a small squad of the Ten Rings organization courtesy of the Mandarin. Even the Vulture showed up, flying in with one of his Chitauri cannons.

"What the Hell?" Captain America asked out loud.

"The Mandarin reasoned with everyone that we can't take over the world if it's destroyed." Vulture explained, taking off his mask momentarily. "And as it happens, I agree. Besides, I owe a certain web head for saving my life."

The second portal opened, and out came the Defenders Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, with the Punisher joining them for once. Right behind Castle was Alice, and behind the Defenders was Wilson Fisk, Benjamin Poindexter, Davos, and Diamondback. They were all soon joined by a man with a flaming skull and a woman with silver gauntlets, leading a ragtag group of shield agents.

"That's where you were, Alice?" Andy asked, shocked.

"I figured you guys needed all the help you could get." Alice smiled. "And that's not all, either." The third portal housed at least twenty or so people around Andy's age, and he instantly recognized them as members of his graduating class at Kent Academy, all in their military uniforms and being led by Tyler and DeSilva, looking ready for war.

A final portal opened, and Andy instantly recognized the ones who came through. His old friend, Kyle Simpson, and Chucky showed up, apparently forming a reluctant truce at the moment. Andy also notice Kyle carrying one of his footlockers with her.

At that moment, Thor recovered from the beatdown Thanos gave him, and called Stormbreaker back to him. Iron Man also woke up to the sight of Pepper approaching him, wearing the blue and silver iron suit he made for her.

As everyone grouped together, the ground exploded, and Ant Man appeared in his giant form, opening his hand and having the Hulk jump out, where Rhodey, in a bulkier version of his Iron Patriot armor, flew to the ground, as Nica and Rocket held on. Behind everyone else, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Nebula made their way out of the ruins, carrying with them Stark's Infinity Gauntlet.

Captain America looked back at Thanos, who now looked worried at the sheer amount of numbers he would have to face.

"You're fucked now, asshole." Andy smirked, as Kyle and Chucky came towards him and set his footlocker down. "I'm assuming you want to live too, Chucky?"

"Why do you think I put my soul in this doll in the first place, dumbass?" Chucky said sarcastically. "This doesn't change anything, though."

"We brought your stuff." Kyle told Barclay, opening the locker and revealing most of his weapons from the cabin. Andy picked out a large hunting knife, some small throwing knives, and his bladed gauntlet, while Kyle took the rest of the throwing knives and a puncturing knuckle duster with points on either end. Chucky stuck with his usual knife, but also took a small pistol, and Andy finished by reloading his own gun and shouldering his M16.

"Nica!" Andy shouted, throwing his 12 gauge shotgun over to her, where she caught it with ease. Castle complied with giving two of his pistols to Alice, while he loaded up a minigun.

"AVENGERS!" Captain America shouted, as everyone took fighting positions. Andy brandished his gauntlet. He was ready.

"_Assemble._"


	8. The Endgame, Part 2

The Avengers and their allies charged ahead, with Thanos commanding his army forward before slowly striding at a leisurely pace. Captain America and Thor shocked the first row of Chitauri with their hammers, and the battle was on. The tribes of Wakanda surged forward, throwing their spears while Ant Man and Hulk punched the Leviathans. Soon after, the Abomination joined the fight, surprising Banner.

"Blonsky, you're here?" Bruce asked.

"The only one who gets to kill you is me!" Abomination growled, before throwing a Chitauri soldier towards Hulk. Bruce swung upward, sending the soldier flying straight through a Leviathan, who crashed to the ground.

Black Panther, Okoye, and Shuri fought side by side, while Drax jumped over them and plowed through Chitauri. Above them were Stark and Pepper, who flew back to back and blasted any of Thanos minions that got too close. Just under them were Captain America and Thor, who kept hitting Thanos' army with their hammers, while Batroc leaped over them with his acrobatic abilities. When they called their weapons back, Thor realized he was holding Mjolnir.

"Here, you take the little one." Thor told Rogers, and they switched so that the god of thunder could have Stormbreaker. Thor flew away, as Bucky Barnes and Andy shot at anything that moved, with Rocket and Chucky on their shoulders.

"Heard you gave the Soul Stone to Thanos." Bucky yelled toward Andy.

"Wouldn't you if he promised to help Steve?" Andy asked, stabbing a Chitauri with his bladed gauntlet and decapitating another. Bucky shrugged, while Rocket and Chucky began talking.

"What the Hell are you supposed to be?" Rocket asked, while shooting.

"Chucky, the killer doll!" Chucky laughed with glee, taking potshots at Outriders. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Rocket the raccoon." Rocket replied, refocusing on the battle.

Nica, Alice, Kyle, Tyler, and De Silva were all side by side, forming a crude firing line in front of the Kent Academy graduates and the Mandarin's forces.

"So this is where you were?" Nica asked. "Calling in Andy's old friends?"

"Hell yeah." Alice grinned, firing the twin pistols Frank gave her. "Don't forget I convinced Castle to join in on the party too."

"How'd you convince Chucky?" Tyler asked.

"I reasoned that if Thanos destroys the world, he'll die too." Kyle replied, stabbing an Outrider that got too close. "His whole point of being in the doll was that he wanted to live."

Across the battlefield, Punisher kept firing his minigun at the Chitauri, while Daredevil flipped around and fought with his nightsticks. Next to them were Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, who fought off the Chitauri Gorillas.

"This just another war to you, Frank?" Daredevil asked.

"All wars are the same, Red." Punisher shrugged. "The only things that change are the enemies." Daredevil turned his head in the direction of Fisk, Poindexter, Diamondback, and Davos, who were working with the Defenders to keep the Chitauri at bay.

"It appears you're right." Daredevil said begrudgingly, ducking under a Chitauri soldier's punch. Frank was about to help, but he was knocked to the ground by an Outrider. Before the Outrider could do anything, it was blown away by a seismic blast, before getting wrapped around the neck by a fiery chain and violently decapitated. Frank looked up, seeing the man with the flaming skull and the woman with the gauntlets.

"The Rider?" Punisher asked out loud. The Ghost Rider nodded, before he and Quake left to fight off the other Chitauri.

Iron Man landed on the ground, where he was attacked by one of the Chitauri gorillas. Stark tried to blast it, but was hurled onto the ground. Before the gorilla could do anything, something pulled on its leg, where it tripped and was crushed underfoot by Ant Man, still in giant form.

"Holy cow, you will not believe what's been going on!" Spider Man exclaimed, rushing to check on Tony. "Remember when we were in space, I got all dusty? I must've passed out, because I woke up, and you were gone, but Doctor Strange said, 'It's been five years, they need us'. Then he did that swirly portal thing- wait, what are you doing?" Instead of responding, Stark wrapped his arms around Peter in a bear hug, happy to see the kid alive again.

"Oh, this is nice." Parker smiled.

On the other side of the battlefield, Star Lord flew around blasting Chitauri and Sakaarans, before one of the soldiers reached up and grabbed him, pulling them both to the ground. That same soldier sucker punched Quill, and he landed on his back without a defense. The Sakaaran raised his sword, anticipating the kill, but was shot through the chest, and his corpse fell on top of Peter. The Guardian pushed the body off him and stood up, seeing Gamora with a smoking blaster.

"Gamora?" Peter asked, deactivating his mask. "I thought I lost you."

"I thought I lost you too." Gamora replied, closing the distance between the two and embraced Quill in a hug. "I thought he was going to kill me after he took the Soul Stone from Barclay."

"It's good to see you again, sister." Gamora turned around, coming face to face with Nebula. The adoptive daughters of Thanos walked towards each other, looking like they wanted to kill the other, but instead hugged.

"It's good to see you too." Gamora grinned.

Amidst the chaos, Hawkeye and Black Widow were being chased by one of the Chitauri Gorillas, until Falcon swooped in and served as a distraction. Natasha turned around for a split second, only to fire her pistols at the behemoth's eyes.

"Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?" Clint asked, realizing he was running out of options.

"Get the stones as far away as possible!" Rogers shouted, calling Mjolnir to him and smashing an Outrider in the face.

"No!" Banner yelled. "We need to get them back where they came from!"

"There's no way to get them back, because Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel." Tony reminded everyone.

"There has to be something we can do!" Andy said, using his M16 to tear a Chitauri soldier apart, then impaled a Sakaaran through the head with his bladed gauntlet.

"There is!" Ant Man exclaimed excitedly, as he shrunk down and pressed a button. "That wasn't our only time machine."

A cheerful song from a car horn sounded, echoing across the battlefield. It took Steve a second to realize what was making the noise. Scott's van.

"Anyone see an ugly brown van out there?" Steve asked.

"Yes, but you won't like where it's parked." Valkyrie grimaced.

Nica looked out over a hill, seeing what the Asgardian wasn't thrilled about.

"Behind Thanos and his army." Pierce groaned. "God damn it."

"Scott, how long can you get that thing working?" Tony asked.

"Maybe ten minutes." Scott guessed, while Hope flew towards him.

"Get it started, we'll get the stones to you." Captain America ordered, running off to assist the Avengers.

"We're on it Cap." Hope replied, before she and Ant Man shrunk down and flew towards the van.

Doctor Strange and Wong continued using their magic against the Chitauri, as Iron Man flew up to them and briefly removed his helmet.

"Hey, you said there's a one in fourteen million chance we'd win, right?" Stark asked. "Is this the one where we win?"

"If I tell you what happens, then it won't happen." Strange replied.

"Then you better be right." Tony said.

Ant Man and the Wasp finally made it to the van, where they found that the vehicle was a disaster.

"It's a mess back here." Hope grumbled, while Scott attempted to activate the quantum tunnel.

"Dammit, it's dead!" Scott announced. "I'll have to hotwire it."

Thanos called his sword back and stabbed one of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, killing him instantly, and looked across the battlefield. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hawkeye sprinting towards something. He just didn't know what.

Barton slid underneath a Chitauri and fired his bow, shooting an explosive arrow and blowing the soldier up, while Black Widow ducked from an Outrider's attack. Clint turned around, seeing more Sakaarans charging him, but were soon blown back by an energy surge. Hawkeye looked up, seeing Black Panther land right in front of him.

"Clint!" T'Challa shouted. "Give it to me." Hawkeye nodded, handing the King of Wakanda the Gauntlet, and the Black Panther went running towards the quantum tunnel. T'Challa made short work of several Sakaarans, including setting off a miniature energy blast from his suit, before a double bladed sword flew through the air and knocked the stones from his grasp. The sword came back to Thanos, who began to run towards the Gauntlet, but Wanda Maximoff flew down and landed between him and the stones.

"You took everything from me." Scarlet Witch growled.

"I haven't taken everything." Thanos sneered. "Not yet." The Mad Titan charged Maximoff, who ripped out chunks of the ground and threw them at Thanos. The rocks were easily destroyed, and Wanda had to defend herself by blocking the double bladed sword from cutting her in half.

With Thanos distracted, T'Challa continued running towards the quantum tunnel, picking up the Gauntlet along the way, by was grabbed ahold of by a Chitauri Gorilla.

"I got it!" Spider Man yelled, firing a web at the stones.

"Take it!" Black Panther shouted, tossing the Gauntlet towards Parker. Peter expertly caught it and landed on the ground, but was now surrounded by multiple Outriders.

"Activate instant kill mode!" Peter yelled, and his suit sprouted four appendages that stabbed at anything that was deemed a threat.

From afar, Chucky watched Spider Man's suit make short work of the Outriders, and he had to admit, he was impressed.

"What I wouldn't give for a suit like that." Chucky smirked, before turning back to helping Andy in killing Chitauri.

Thanos swung his blade down at Wanda, who began struggling to keep the blade from her face. Thanos smiled, pressing the sword downward even further, only for Maximoff to release a devastating power blast, destroying the sword and blowing the remains away from its wielder. Before Thanos could react, Wanda telekinetically grabbed him and suspended him in midair, slowly tearing off bits of his armor.

"Rain fire!" Thanos commanded. "Do it now!" The Chitauri on Sanctuary II obeyed, firing all of their cannons at the battlefield, killing the Avengers' forces and their own troops indiscriminately.

Wanda attempted to shield herself from the blasts, but was blown back and knocked unconscious.

Doctor Strange and the Masters created their shields to protect the Avengers and their allies.

"Get down!" Andy yelled, grabbing Chucky and taking cover behind a massive rock formation. Barclay looked over a few feet away, seeing Nica, Alice, Tyler, DeSilva, and Kyle had huddled together as well.

Pepper flew by, noticing the dam about to burst, and water was beginning to rush in.

"Uh, is anyone seeing this?" Pepper asked, panicking. Strange and Wong turned towards the water, creating an energy wall tall enough to keep out the water and drowning everyone.

"Alright, I got this!" Spider Man said reassuringly, fighting off as many Outriders as possible, but was soon overwhelmed. "Okay, I don't got this. Somebody help!"

"Hey Queens, heads up." Captain America prepped Parker, before throwing Mjolnir in his direction and giving the kid enough time to web the handle and fly away. Unfortunately, one of the ship's cannons blasted the web, and Peter began falling again, but was saved by one of the most unlikeliest of allies.

"Toomes?" Peter asked in disbelief. Sure enough, the Vulture had swooped in and saved him from falling to the ground.

"Relax Peter, I won't drop you this time." Adrian reassured the web slinger. "Besides, I owe you for saving me." Vulture flew towards the quantum tunnel, throwing Peter towards Valkyrie and her pegasus, where he landed on safely.

"Hi, nice to meet you!" Peter said excitedly. Valkyrie tried to navigate through the hailstorm of fire, but one of the cannons got a lucky hit on her horse, and Peter fell towards the ground. Another blast forced Peter to take cover, where he curled up into a ball to protect himself.

The constant barrage from Sanctuary II was beginning to finally take a toll on the Avengers, who were constantly being knocked down and disoriented. Star Lord was grounded from the air. The Hulk and Iron Man crashed into each other. It was only after Rocket jumped on top of Groot in an attempt to cover him did the firing finally stop.

Chucky and Andy looked up, noticing the cannons changing the direction of their firing.

"The fuck is going on?" the Lakeshore Strangler asked.

"What the Hell is that?" Falcon added.

"Friday, what are they firing at?" Tony asked, staring at the ship firing at seemingly nothing.

"Something just entered the upper atmosphere." Stark's AI explained.

"Danvers." Steve realized. "Bruce, Thor, take that flying piece of junk out!"

"Thor, hit me." Banner told the god of thunder, who smirked and smacked the Hulk in the chest with the hammer side of Stormbreaker. The strike was powerful enough to send Banner flying, with his fists raised in front of him, and he shot straight up through Sanctuary II like a cannonball. The ship was then further damaged when Captain Marvel flew across it, and the combined explosions were enough to destroy Thanos ship, where it crash landed in the water.

From where he stood, Thanos' mouth hung ajar, mortified by what he witnessed.

Scott flipped one final switch, and the quantum tunnel was completely activated.

"Danvers, we need an assist here." Steve requested, and Carol landed in front of Peter.

"Hi, I'm Peter Parker." Spider Man greeted, out of breath.

"Carol Danvers." Captain Marvel smiled. "What's the situation?" Both of them looked out at the sea of Chitauri, Outriders, and Sakaarans charging towards them.

"We gotta get this to the brown van with the tech stuff in the back." Peter quickly said, handing the Gauntlet to Carol. "Good luck getting past all those guys though."

"I could use some help here." Captain Marvel called out.

"Avengers, clear a path for Danvers." Rogers said through his comms, and members of the Avengers' allies within the vicinity grouped together to help in any way. Among them were Iron Man, Pepper, Thor, Valkyrie, Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, the Vulture, the Wasp, Star Lord, and War Machine

"Hey Chucky, ever heard of a fastball special?" Andy asked, picking up Chucky with one hand.

"The fuck is that?" Chucky asked, confused.

"You'll see." Andy smirked, and punted the killer doll towards the army of Outriders and Chitauri sprinting towards Captain Marvel.

"Fuck you!" Chucky's voice echoed as he flew through the air, until he landed on a Chitauri and stabbed him through the air, then he continued to hop around from one Outrider or Chitauri to the next, laughing maniacally as he killed them.

Captain Marvel took off, flying towards the quantum tunnel, while Iron Man and Thor flew in the air and blasted the Chitauri. Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch used their powers to hold a leviathan in place, while Valkyrie slashed at its underbelly, and War Machine blew it up with a bunker buster, also called the 'Ex-Wife'. The Vulture and the Wasp flew low to the ground, with Hope fighting the Chitauri in hand to hand combat, while Toomes used his cannon to tear Outriders apart. Star Lord and Pepper stood back to back, blasting at Sakaarans who got too close to Danvers.

Thanos ran full speed towards Captain Marvel, intent on stopping her before she reached the quantum tunnel. Iron man, Thor, and War Machine saw what he was going to do, and blasted him with their repulsors and lightning, stunning the Mad Titan and throwing him off balance. Thanos wasn't completely defeated, however, as he simply turned around and threw the remains of his sword at the quantum tunnel, destroying the van just as Carol got to it and knocking the Gauntlet out of her hands.

The resulting explosion rocked the Earth, forcing Strange to return to Wong and reinforce the magical barrier to keep the rushing water from drowning everyone.

Tony pushed the corpse of a Chitauri off of him and sprinted towards the Infinity Stones, nearly reaching it when Thanos suddenly appeared, making a grab for the Gauntlet. Stark tackled the Mad Titan, but was backhanded away like a mere fly. Hulk then barrelled into Thanos, using his momentum to throw the Titan off balance, but it wasn't enough. Thanos grabbed Banner by the throat and punched him in the stomach and then the face, knocking the green goliath out. Thor jumped in, using both Stormbreaker and Mjolnir to attack Thanos, momentarily locking arms with him. While Thanos and Thor were at a standstill, Captain America jumped onto his back, attempting to help his friends. Just when it seemed like they were going to win, Thanos head butted Thor and threw Rogers off him, knocking him unconscious with a brutal punch to the face. The Mad Titan scrambled for the Gauntlet, only to have Captain Marvel jump in front of him and attack him repeatedly. Thanos took several of Danvers' punches, before finally grabbing her arm and throwing her away like a ragdoll. Smirking, Thanos picked up the Infinity Gauntlet, but felt a bullet graze his shoulder. The Mad Titan looked up, seeing Andy and Chucky running towards him. Thanos grinned, and once Barclay was close enough, he kicked him away and flicked the killer doll in the air, not unlike how one would flick a cigarette. With nothing else standing in his way, Thanos slipped the Gauntlet onto his hand, preparing to snap his fingers, when Carol stopped him again, this time prying the Gauntlet's fingers open. Thanos struggled in the tug of war, eventually headbutting Captain Marvel and punching her in the chest, before kicking her in the face, rendering her unconscious for good.

Upon seeing Danvers defeated, Tony looked towards Strange, who gave him the signal on when to strike.

Thanos grinned, feeling the energy of all six Infinity Stones coursing through his body, when Tony lunged as a last ditch attempt, trying to rip the Gauntlet off his hand. Thanos tried to punch Tony, opting to backhanding him again, and readjusting the Gauntlet.

"I am… inevitable." Thanos smiled triumphantly, snapping his fingers. After a moment, Thanos' eyebrows knit in confusion, as there was no explosion. No blinding white light. No surge of energy. Just an audible clunk when the Gauntlet's fingers rubbed together. His eyes quickly widened in horror, turning his hand around, seeing that the Infinity Stones were no longer in the Gauntlet. The Mad Titan looked back at Tony, shocked, when the stones began forming on the iron suit's gauntlet. Thanos stared at Stark in horror, while Tony felt the rush of energy from the stones.

"And I…" Tony said slowly, looking at Thanos dead in the eye. "Am… _Iron Man_." With that, Tony snapped his fingers, and he was momentarily engulfed in a blinding white light.

Rocket fired his blasters helplessly at a leviathan, who was getting ever closer and closer. Just when the leviathan was about to eat the raccoon, it dissolved into dust.

All around the battlefield, the heroes watched as Thanos' army became ashes. Star Lord and Black Panther stood side by side. Captain America looked towards Stark, knowing that they saved the universe. Thanos watched in stunned silence, as his troops, his commanders, even his ship, became dust. Thanos looked at Iron Man one last time, before resigning to his fate, sitting down on a rock and fading into ash, being blown by the wind.

Tony struggled to stand, deciding to lay on the ground and prop himself up against a pile of debris, as Rhodey flew down to him and tried to silently comfort his best friend. Peter landed in front of his mentor as well, and Rhodey allowed the kid to speak to Stark.

"Mister Stark?" Peter asked, beginning to tear up. "No! Mister Stark, can you hear me? It's me, Peter! We won. We won, Mister Stark. You did it, sir, you did it." Peter started to cry, and was helped up by Rhodey and Pepper, who knelt down next to her husband.

"Hey, Pep…" Tony whispered, trying to smile, but he could barely move. Wielding the Infinity Stones had taken too much energy.

"Friday?" Pepper asked, even though she didn't need to check his vitals.

"Life functions critical." That all but confirmed it. Tony was dying.

"Hey, look at me." Pepper said gently, and Stark looked in his wife's direction. "We're going to be okay. You can rest now." Tony's head moved to the side, and his arc reactor went out. Iron Man was truly gone. Even Captain America and Thor shed a tear for their friend.

While the Avengers were mourning the loss of Tony Stark, some of their allies, including the Defenders, were discussing what to do with the villains who had assisted them.

"They're criminals, they should be locked up." Daredevil announced.

"What!" Abomination yelled. "We helped save the universe, and we get nothing?"

"He does have a point." Nica chimed in. "They did help us in fighting Thanos."

"I saw they get punished here." Frank Castle muttered, aiming his minigun at the villains.

"In all fairness, we're technically criminals." Jessica Jones pointed out. "At least in the eyes of the law."

"How about this: they all get a head start." Alice suggested. "I'd say that's fair." The villains began speaking amongst themselves, before Vulture stepped forward.

"Fair enough." Adrian Toomes agreed. The villains then scattered, either walking or flying away from the destroyed facility.

"How long is this 'head start' supposed to be?" Luke Cage asked.

"As long as you guys feel like." Alice shrugged. "That's up to you."

As Chucky watched Wilson Fisk leave, he asked Andy, "So what now? You gonna kill me here?" Andy responded by pointing his pistol at the killer doll, with murderous intent in his eyes.

"You've killed countless people over the years, some of which were close to me." Andy told him, cocking the pistol. "You destroyed my childhood, and ruined my life."

"But?" Chucky asked. Andy lowered his gun slowly.

"But you also did help fight Thanos." Andy continued. "Even after the deal I made with that psychopath, you still put your differences aside and assisted us. So… you get a headstart, just like those other fucks."

"How long?" Chucky prodded.

"A day, maybe two." Andy shrugged. "Might even be a week." Chucky nodded, beginning to slip away unnoticed by anyone else, before winking at Barclay and running away, laughing maniacally while he did it.

Andy sighed in relief, thankful that it was finally over. The Avengers won. Thanos was defeated. Barclay looked towards the body of Iron Man, watching sadly as Stark's wife cried while holding him. Despite the Mad Titan being stopped, Andy still felt that the victory was hollow, and hung his head in mourning.


	9. The Funeral

Andy, Nica, and Alice stood outside the Stark home, wearing their best as Happy, Pepper, and Morgan Stark walked with a flower bouquet. As they passed, Pepper looked up and smiled at everyone who attended. Pepper set the bouquet in the lake, allowing it to drift off, and Andy caught a small glimpse of what was in the middle. One of Tony Stark's arc reactors, presumably his first, with the phrase, "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart" written around it. While Pepper and Morgan knelt on the dock, Rhodey and Happy half hugged each other, having lost their best friend.

Behind them were Steve Rogers, Peter Parker and his Aunt May. Despite the differences Rogers had with the billionaire, they had always been friends.

Behind the webslinger was Thor and Hulk, who looked like he was about to cry. Right behind Banner was Doctor Strange and Wong, and further from Strange were Scott Lang and the Pyms, who attended out of respect for Tony and his father, Howard.

Black Panther, Okoye, and Shuri stood next to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Even though none of them knew Stark too well, they all agreed that Tony had saved the universe by selflessly sacrificing himself. Hawkeye and his family showed up as well, as Clint had been with Stark and the Avengers since the beginning.

Sam Wilson, Bucky, and Wanda stood towards the back, having had respect for Tony even when he had them all put in prison. Behind the trio was a teenager named Harley, whom Pepper explained helped Tony when he was in trouble back during Christmas in 2012. Further behind were Thaddeus Ross and Maria Hill, with Carol Danvers and Nick Fury standing on the porch of the Stark home. Even the Defenders, Quake, and Ghost Rider appeared, having stood off to the side.

Andy and the Pierces wore all black, just like everyone else, and stood at the very back of the group. It was Andy's idea, they had known Tony the least. Soon after having walked outside and watched Tony's arc reactor float away on the water, the funeral service was ended, and the Avengers went their separate ways.

* * *

"What will you do now?" Nica asked, as Andy walked back towards his truck. Andy himself had pondered that for a while, ever since Thanos was defeated.

"I don't know." Andy admitted. "Chucky's still out there. Just because he helped us stop Thanos doesn't mean he's suddenly a good guy."

"Funny choice of words." Alice snickered. "If you ever need us to help, we will."

"I appreciate that, but I think I can handle him on my own." Andy told the Pierces. "What about you guys?"

"I think I'll finish college." Nica declared. "It's time I got back to school."

"I'm going to start up soon too." Alice added. "I'm thinking about being a cop."

"Best of luck to the both of you." Andy nodded, getting into his truck and started the engine. "Take care, Nica." With that, the truck roared to life, and Andy sped back towards New York, beginning his search for Chucky.


	10. Epilogue: This Is The End

_Three Days Later_

Chucky ran through the dark streets of Hell's Kitchen, trying to get out of the rain. What's more, he was trying to get away from something- no, _someone_\- chasing after him. The former killer doll ducked into an alley, stopping to look at his hand. By now, it was completely made of human flesh, no longer the plastic of a toy. He was one hundred percent human now, and there wasn't a Heart of Damballa to bring him back. He was, to put it bluntly, fucked.

"Taking a breather?" Chucky looked up, seeing a dark figure in a trenchcoat standing at the mouth of the alley. Lightning flashed, and Chucky could see the face of Andy Barclay. The man whom he'd tormented for decades, and now, the tables had turned against him.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" Chucky pleaded. "Look, I helped you defeat that oversized grape. I can't possess Nica's body. And look, she can go on jogs now! Can't we just call it even?"

"Sorry, no can do." Andy replied, revealing his twelve gauge shotgun. "I can't risk you coming after my friends, or my family."

In desperation, Chucky lunged at Barclay by jumping towards him, but Andy kicked him away like a soccer ball. Chucky flew a couple feet away, landing in the middle of a puddle.

"Andy, please!" Chucky begged, looking back at Barclay. "We're friends till the end, remember?"

"This is the end, friend." Andy coldly responded, just as he did all those years ago. Before Chucky could utter another word, Andy squeezed the trigger. The buckshot tore through Chucky's face, leaving nothing left but half of his head. The one eye that was intact had a permanent shocked expression. Andy sighed, turning to leave the dark and wet alley, before looking back.

"This time, stay dead, you fucker."

_The End_


End file.
